Never giving up on you
by wolvenlied
Summary: After facing dangers countless times the person or bot you can rely on the most is your partner. What happens when you start to feel more for your partner than you know you should? Hard choices have to be made.
1. Chapter 1

**A/N**

 **Okay so I'm really nervous about uploading this since it's my first fanfic in years. I started this one in 2013 but only decided to upload it once I had written enough chapters in advance. When I started writing this fanfic I was watching TFP season 1 though due to college and lack of time I lost track of the series. I'm currently working my way through the rest of the episodes so I'm still not sure how this fanfic is going to end. It depends on how the series ends. Please note I'm in my final year of college now so my college work comes first.**

 **I hope you enjoy this some feedback would be nice.**

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Jack Darby was sitting at his desk in his room, his left elbow on the top of his desk and his fist pressed against his temple. In his other hand he tapped the ballpoint pen he was holding nervously against the desk's surface. His deep blue eyes scanned through the math textbook in front of him and he pulled his brows into a frown. Algebra had never been one of his best subjects. In contrast his friend Rafael, who was 4 years younger than him, was a math genius.

Suddenly Jack jumped as there was a knock on his bedroom door. He spun around on his chair to see his mother, June, standing in the doorway. She was wearing a sleek black dress with heels, her make-up on and her dark hair neatly in a bun.

"Mom?" Jack said.  
"I'm going out on a date tonight, I just wanted to say don't stay up too late. You have school in the morning young man."

"Since when do you date, mum? You haven't been on a date since dad left."

"Exactly," she replied. "That's why I'm going on one now. You're older now and you'll soon be going to college. I thought it would be the right time to meet someone new."

"Oh," Jack was surprised, he wasn't sure what to think of it. "Okay...but just who are you meeting?"

"That is none of your business." June Darby smiled secretly. "When I feel the time is right for you to meet him then I'll introduce you."

Jack wasn't entirely comfortable with his mother going off somewhere with a strange man he didn't even know, he felt rather protective towards her even though she was embarrassing at times.

"Dinner is in the fridge you just need to microwave it. I have to go now." his mother waved at him and turned to leave.

"Mom, wait." Jack stood up from his chair and went over to her. "Call me if anything is wrong." he said placing his arms around her.

"I'll be fine, Jack." she reassured him and held him at arm's length. "Just make sure you go to bed on time, okay?" With a comforting smile she gently stroked his cheek and then left.

Jack went back to his homework and finished the last few equations then went over to his bed and slumped down onto it. He gazed at the ceiling and let out a huge sigh.

From outside he suddenly heard a familiar beep of a motorcycle horn. It was Arcee _._ He smiled as he got up to looked outside the window. Arcee was his best friend; she was strong, graceful, fast, courageous and, in his eyes, very beautiful. He saw the outline of a motorcycle in the poorly lit street. It was 8 pm and already dark outside, winter was approaching. Jack ran to grab his coat and motorcycle helmet. Before he went out the front door he checked his appearance in the hallway mirror. He ran his fingers through his jet black hair.

"Looking good." He said to himself and went out the front door.

The moonlight caught the frame of the motorcycle and gave it a silvery glow.

"So, you wanna go for a ride?" said a voice which came not from a person but from the motorcycle itself.

"Thought you'd never ask." Jack smiled. He went over to the vehicle and ran his fingers along the smooth leather seat before climbing on. Even though Jack looked like an ordinary boy who went to an ordinary school and had an ordinary job at a fast-food checkout, he had a huge secret. Arcee wasn't a human, she was a motorcycle ... well actually she wasn't even a motorcycle. She was an alien from outer space from a planet called Cybertron. She was as it were a sentient machine that could transform into a motorcycle. Although Arcee was more than a machine, she had feelings, thoughts, she could get hurt and needed to rest. You could say she was like you and I except her body was made of semi-organic metal. It was probably hard to believe but she wasn't the only of her kind to inhabit the earth. There were others like her: Optimus Prime, Ratchet, Bumblebee and Bulkhead. They were known as the Autobots. Then there were the Decepticons, evil Cybertronians who wanted power and to take over the Earth. The only ones who stood in their way were the Autobots and their allies.

Arcee, with Jack on her back, revved her engine and sped along the straight road. They were going faster than they should've been going and from a distance all you could see was a dark blue blur. Jack enjoyed the feeling of riding Arcee; the wind whistled past his helmet, he felt free, he felt as if he was flying, and his heart raced every time he rode her.

They sped through town now, turning corners sharply and weaving in and out of traffic. Jack didn't know where they were going as Arcee was leading the way. All she had told him was that it was a surprise. Soon the town of Jasper, Nevada was behind them and they were riding through a long stretch of road which ran through the Great Basin Desert. Arcee suddenly veered off road and was heading towards a rocky outcrop high above the desert. In no time at all she was at its base and then began the ascend up its steep and narrow path that lead to the top. The path zigzagged all the way to the top of the outcrop and after a few minutes they were up nearly 100 ft from where they were before.

"We're here," Arcee said and Jack dismounted. Behind him he heard whirring and whizzing sounds. A few moments later a 15 ft robotic creature was standing next to him. Her skin, if you could call it that, was made of a dark metal alloy. On top of her skin she wore what looked like blue armour which resembled a helmet, a breastplate, an undergarment, bracers and boots all made of metal. Pink accents were on her wrists, elbows, knees and framed her silver coloured face. In the dark her vivid blue eyes shone beautifully.

Arcee smiled at Jack.

"Why did you bring me here?" Jack asked looking up at her.

Arcee didn't say anything, instead she walked towards the edge of the outcrop and sat down. Jack followed and waited for her to reply.

"It reminds me of home," Arcee answered yet she seemed miles away in her thoughts as she looked out into the distance. Jack stepped a little closer to the edge and could see all the city lights shining brightly in the darkness. You could make out each building and see cars rushing around through busy streets even though it was evening. He'd been to Cybertron, her home planet, or at least what was left of it. After millennia of war it had been destroyed but Jack could only imagine what it might have looked like when it was at its full glory.

"I often come here on my own to get away from everything," Arcee continued. "It's just so peaceful here."

Jack nodded in agreement but didn't speak. For a while the pair just stared out into the distance enjoying the tranquil evening. Next to him Arcee lay down and sighed. It was rather peculiar since she didn't need to breathe yet she could sigh. Jack wondered if she had perhaps learnt the habit from him.

"Arcee?"

"There," she said pointing at the sky. He looked up, straining his neck to see where she was pointing to.

"What is it?" he asked.

"That star there is the one at the centre of my solar system." Jack went over to Arcee and lay down beside her to try to position himself at a similar angle to her so he could get a better view. He didn't often gaze at the stars but in the evening sky they looked quite fascinating. The milky way spread across the sky like a long winding river flows through the land. A plethora of stars dotted about the night sky reminded him of spring flowers in a meadow.

"Maybe we could go there again some day." said Jack. Arcee rolled onto her side and looked at him.

"You're kidding right?" she raised an eyebrow.

"No, not really. I'd like to see your home planet again someday."

"That's sweet, Jack, but I'd rather you stayed here on Earth where I know you will be safe."

"You know you're starting to sound like my mother." Jack remarked with a tone of sarcasm. He turned his back on Arcee and kicked at a small chunk of rock sending it a yard or two in front of him. He was nearly eighteen and was rather fed up that his mother would still treat him like a child, he didn't expect it from his best friend.

"Wait, Jack." Arcee leaned towards him and placed her hand firmly on his shoulder. "I just don't want anything to happen to you."

Jack sighed and turned towards her: "I know..." They had been partners, working together, for the last few years and Jack remembered how she had been towards him at first. She didn't want to get to know him at first and he didn't really want to get to know her, yet something clicked between them. Arcee convinced Jack to help her and her allies. He'd been there when Arachnid had brought up painful memories of her past and how her former partner Tailgate had been murdered in front of her. Not long before she met Jack another partner, who she was rather close with, was killed by decepticons. Cliffjumper's death had hit her the hardest. For a long time she had avoided forming a bond with anyone until of course Jack came along.

Arcee ran a finger gently across Jack's cheek and gave him a meek smile. She was a strong and fierce warrior yet even she had her weaknesses.

"You know Raf said there would be a meteor shower this evening." Jack changed the subject. "How about we watch it together?"

"Sure," Arcee sat up and gestured for him to come and sit next to her. They sat in silence side by side staring up at the night's sky just waiting for the meteor shower to start. Jack shivered, it was chillier that he thought it would be up here. Arcee seemed to have noticed this. She placed her arm around him and pulled him closer towards her. Jack blushed and leant into her. His heart skipped a beat. Up above in the atmosphere an array of meteors burned up and created brilliant streaks across the night sky.

"Arcee, there's something I've always wondered." Jack broke the silence between them. Arcee looked down at him expectantly. "I've seen Bumblebee get upset, I've seen you get angry and I've heard Ratchet laugh so I .. I was wondering if Autobots can feel... well... love."

"Love?"

"Yeah you know when you feel really close to someone. Like they are the most important person in the whole world and you think about them all the time" he tried explaining.

"Jack," Arcee began. "I came to life in a world torn by war, it's all I've ever known. We are capable of emotion but I doubt the kind you describe."

"Oh...," the young human said. He felt slightly rejected, he liked Arcee a lot. Probably a lot more than he should do. When he wasn't with her he couldn't stop thinking of her even though he knew in the back of his mind it didn't make sense.

"But we can feel friendship." Arcee said reassuringly and smiled at him pulling him closer to her. It was a somewhat awkward kind of hug. Come to think of it, it was probably one of the first times Arcee had shown Jack a little affection and he liked it.


	2. Chapter 2

**A/N**

 **I'm back again with another chapter. I decided to upload it earlier.**

 **So I've been catching up with the TFP series. Like I mentioned in the previous chapter, I wrote the first couple of chapters while watching season 1. Now I'm almost at the end of season 2 and I kind of want to tie my story in with the main series for plot reasons. So this story can be considered an AU (alternate universe) version of the main story line. The plot differences are as follows:**

 **\- there is a time skip after the episode Nemesis Prime(se2ep8) and before Armada(se2ep10). The events of this story take place during the time skip and then tie in with Armada up until the final episode then continue after the series has ended.**

 **\- Jack is 17, almost 18 in this story, Miko is 16 and Raf has just turned 14.**

 **\- Silas doesn't die, he manages to escape somehow.**

 **Enjoy and if you liked the first two chapters please leave a little comment. I'd like to know what you think so far ~**

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Arcee noticed Jack was starting to drift off to sleep next to her. She gave him a gentle nudge and roused him from his light slumber.

"I better take you home, Jack." She stood up and with a whirr transformed into her motorcycle form. Jack climbed sleepily onto her back. She set off at a calmer pace than before as she didn't want to accidentally throw him off. Within half an hour she was rolling up the driveway to his house. Her human companion was sound asleep on her back. She used her radio transmitter to open the automatic door of the carport and parked inside. Then the door closed carefully behind her. Before Arcee powered down she thought for a while about what Jack had asked earlier that night. What was love? She scanned through her memory banks and tried to find some thought that seemed to match Jack's description of love. Then Cliffjumper's memory appeared and she felt her spark ache. His loss had caused her a deep sadness and she still often thought about him. Perhaps this was love. Had she loved Cliffjumper?

Jack stirred slightly in his sleep, breaking her concentration. For a while Arcee listened to her companion's soft snores and absorbed the warm of his body. She felt safe with Jack by her side, he was special to her in a way. Not just a charge anymore but an actual friend. She decided not to ponder about it anymore and powered herself down for the night.

"Jack?" Ms. Darby was standing at the door leading from the carport into the house holding a cup of coffee dressed in her bathrobe. She could see her son asleep on top of his motorcycle, he had obviously been sleeping there all night.

"Good morning, June," Arcee greeted Jack's mother as she powered up.

"I was worried when Jack wasn't in his bed this morning but I should have known he was with you." The boy's mother smiled and, if Arcee had been in her other form she would have smiled back. Jack's mother knew all about the Autobots. At first she hadn't believed her son when she confronted him about where he had been going after school every day. The story honestly sounded so outlandish that she had got cross with him and had threatened to take his motorbike away. The cat soon came out of the bag when Jack's mother was kidnapped by MECH, an evil agency intent on harnessing Cybertronian technology. Together with Arcee, Jack rescued his mother and was finally able to share the secret he had kept for so long. After that Arcee had pretty much become one of the family and June felt more at ease knowing her son was safe when he wasn't home.

"I promised you I'd keep him safe."

June smiled and went over to her son and ran her fingers through his black hair. Jack roused to see his mother standing over him.

"Mom?" he said sleepily.

"Good morning, Smooth Operator." A female voice greeted him from below.

"Cee? Have I been here all night?" Jack sat up and get off of Arcee's back. Next to him she transformed and crouched in the garage. She just smiled at him. They locked eyes for a moment and Jack smiled back. Next to him June cleared her throat.

"How about some breakfast?" his mother gestured towards the door to the house. Jack nodded and went to follow her but stopped halfway and turned back toward Arcee.  
"I guess I'll see you later?"

"Sure," Arcee winked and then he left.

Arcee watched Jack leave with his mother. While she was waiting she started to think about Jack's question from last night and began to think about when she had first met him. She was hiding from two decepticon scouts outside of Jack's workplace. He had just finished his shift and was talking to his mother on the phone when he saw her. The sight of her had stopped him in his tracks, he admired her and touched her even going so boldly as to sit on her back. Of course he didn't know at the time that she was an Autobot yet she felt flattered he had called her beautiful. Suddenly she was interrupted by a beep from her comlink.

"Ratchet to Arcee, do you copy?" The team's medic was speaking.

"Loud and clear. What's up?"

"I need you back at base as soon as you can. The sensor upgrade you requested is ready to be installed."

"Roger that, send a groundbridge and I'll see you soon."

A few minutes later a green portal materialized in the garage. Arcee transformed and entered it.

Jack had just finished his breakfast and was helping his mother do the dishes.

"You know you looked quite comfortable on top of Arcee." said his mother.

"Mom," Jack moaned. "It's not like that, we're just friends." he felt himself turn a deep shade of red.

"Then why are you turning red?" she teased her son. Jack couldn't believe how embarrassing his mother could be at times. It was like she had a 6th sense and could easily see through the front her son put up around her. Mothers. Jack sighed as he placed the last of the cutlery in the draw.

"Can I go now?"

"Just be back by ten." his mother said firmly placing a hand on her hip as Jack walked past her. He waved at her with the back of his hand and headed to the garage. It was empty. Jack grabbed his cellphone and hit the speed dial.

"Cee, where are you?"

"Back at base getting an upgrade. I'll send you a groundbridge."

Moments Jack stepped through the bright green portal in front of him and found himself at the autobot base. It was a used missile silo and large enough to house all of the autobots. The control room was kitted out with the most high-tech equipment. He scanned the room and saw Arcee lying down on the sickbay table with Ratchet standing over her. He was the autobot's medic since they were living machines they could get injured and he was always on hand to patch them up. Jack approached and asked:

"So what kind of upgrade are you getting this time?"

"Just trying to increase the range of my long range sensors."

"Lie still Arcee." Ratchet told the female autobot in front of him. Jack hopped up onto the large platform Arcee was laying on.

"Where are the others?" he asked.

"Out scouting for energon. Hold still Arcee." the grumpy medic demanded and she groaned with annoyance.

"Wanna help me run diagnostics when Ratchet is done?"

Jack smiled at her.

"There. Done. How does that feel?"

Arcee sat up and flexed.

"Feels good, doc." she hopped off the platform and transformed. "Ready Smooth Operator?"

And with that Jack climbed onto Arcee's back. Ratchet opened up a portal and the pair raced through it. The groundbridge opened up into a forest.

"The perfect place don't ya think?"

Jack slid off of her.

"So what do you want me to do?" Next to Jack Arcee took on her natural form.

"Here," she said handing him a device as big as his two fists. "I want you to go off into the woods with the beacon. Head as far away as you can from me and I'll try to find you. You've got half an hour."

"You want to play hide and seek?" Jack was amused.

"No, I want you to help run a diagnostic test to see how far my new range is." As always Arcee was rather blunt.

"Arcee, I was kidding. See you later."

"If you run into any trouble use your cellphone to contact me."

"I'll be fine."

Jack headed through the trees. The forest was peaceful except for the sound of birds and the gentle breeze which blew through the boughs of the trees. He walked at a fast pace breaking out into a sweat as he tried to create as much distance between Arcee and himself. Every now and again he glanced at his wristwatch to see how much time he had left before his companion would start tracking him. Half an hour soon turned into forty five minutes. Jack was expecting to hear the sound of Arcee's motor through the trees any second now. He wondered if she was okay and was about to reach for his phone when the familiar low rumble of Arcee's engine sounded in the distance.

Arcee was close, it had taken a while for her to lock onto Jack's signal as she hadn't expected him to venture so far from her. Luckily her sensor improvements were working. She raced through the trees, weaving in and out of their trunks following the blip of her sensor which lead her to Jack. Soon she was at his position and in visual range but she couldn't see him.

"Jack?" she transformed and looked around. No sign of him. She double checked the scanner embedded in her arm and saw she was exactly on top of his location yet she couldn't see him.

"Arcee, up here." she looked up to see Jack sitting in a tree. If she had a heart it would've skipped a beat. She was relieved to see him.

"Don't scare me like that. I thought 'cons might have taken you."

"I'm fine." he said climbing down from the tree. When he was level with her, Arcee stretched out her hand for him to grab on and she lifted him to the ground.

"What's next?"

"How about you and me have some fun?" Arcee said suggestively as she transformed into her vehicle mode. They sped through the forest as fast as Arcee could go. They flew over crevices and over small streams. Adrenaline rushed through Jack's veins and they felt like one being soaring through the forest. Arcee could sense his enjoyment and reared up on one wheel. Jack let go and stretched out his arms above his head.

"Yeah!" He shouted with elation. Their fun was interrupted when a signal caught Arcee's attention. Her scanner bleeped and she went back onto two wheels.

"Jack, there's an unfamiliar signal up ahead."

"Cons?"

"I dunno. Maybe we should go check it out."

"What about calling for back up?"

"No need, we're just going to take a look. If it's 'cons then we'll alert Optimus and the rest of the team."

Jack nodded in agreement. They tracked the signal through the forest until they came into a clearing. In the middle of the clearing was a long metallic object emitting a flashing light. It was where the signal was coming from.

"This is weird Arcee, we should head back. I have a bad feeling about this."

"Agreed." They turned tail and headed away from the signal beacon when around them nets sprang up out of the ground and entwined them.

"Arcee!" Jack yelled as he was thrown off his ride. Around them masked men sprang out of the trees and in the distance were the sounds of several helicopters. The men grabbed Jack and pinned him to the ground.

"Jack!" Arcee called trying to get free of the net. She transformed but it was no use. They were made of thick steel which the blade attached to her arm couldn't cut.

"Aaargh." she cried out as an electric current shot through her body and she went limp.

"NO, Arceee!" Jack watched in horror as she fell to the ground unconscious. Then something blunt hit him in the back of his head and everything went dark.


	3. Chapter 3

**A/N I've completed two more chapters so this is why I'm uploading this one. You finally get to find out what happened to Arcee and Jack. Also I made a slight edit in one of the previous chapters. Arcee is apparently 15 ft and not 12 ft as I originally thought.**

 **Enjoy~**

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Jack awoke in a dark room his vision was still fuzzy and his head throbbed. He tried to get up and found his arms and legs tied. What had happened to him? How long had he been unconscious? He surveyed the room and from what he could make out he wasn't on a Decepticon ship. The shackles that bound him were definitely man made. Gradually his vision came back to him and he could make out that he was tied to a hospital bed. Dim light filtered in through an air vent. His clothes had been removed and replaced by a hospital gown. Had he been in some kind of an accident? Was he in a hospital? He tried to think back to what had happened before everything went blank. A pair of cyan eyes flashed through his mind.

"Arcee!" he called out. Memories came flooding back to him, he needed to get loose he needed to find her. Suddenly a bright light filled the room momentarily blinding Jack.

"Aah, I see you are awake." Said a deep voice and a shadow appeared at the doorway where the bright light was coming from. A stern burly man walked up to him. His face bore many scars, his hair was grey and his piercing eyes looked Jack straight in the eyes.  
"Silas!" yelled Jack. "Where's Arcee? What have you done with her?"

"She's resting for now. Your friend has proven to be quite valuable to our research she's an amazing piece of bioengineering."

"If you've hurt her I'll ... I'll..."

"Do what exactly? You don't have any chance of escaping and your Autobot friends can't track you. We've blocked every signal in and out of this place." Jack glared at Silas, he struggled in his restraints and spat at Silas. The leader of MECH smirked, turned heel and exited the room leaving Jack in perpetual darkness. His body felt weak and he soon fell unconscious again.

The next time Jack awoke it was to the sound of blood curdling screams. It took him a moment to realise where he was. In the distance he could hear a faint drilling sound rather like that of a dentist's drill and then he heard another scream. It was Arcee's voice. Jack banged against his shackles and tried to break loose but it was no use.

"Arcee!" he cried at the top of his lunges hoping she could hear him. The sound of his voice was drowned by her howls of pain. Jack continued to call her name as loud as he could. She was being tortured for hours on end and all he could do was listen to her pain. By the second day Jack's throat was so sore from shouting that he could no longer speak. Instead he wept as he heard every cut they made to Arcee and every one of her shrieks rang through his ears. Locked away in a dark room he had no sense of time. They could have been locked up for hours or days or weeks. After what Jack thought was the fifth day he no longer heard Arcee. His heart ached and he hoped she was alive. He cursed at his helplessness.

Over the course of the next two days he still hadn't heard any sign of Arcee being alive. He was starting to think she was dead and his worst fears were confirmed when Silas returned to him.

"We're letting you go. You're of no use to us." From behind Jack a hand with a cloth covered his face and he blacked out.

When Jack regained consciousness he was in the middle of a desert. He had no idea where he was, he was weak and disoriented. His clothes had been returned to him but they were in tatters. Jack dug deep into his pockets looking for his phone. To his dismay it was gone.

He trudged through the sand which seemed to pull him down into the ground. Ahead of him he could make out a thin black line running through the desert. It was a road. He started running towards it, a few times he stumbled and fell in the sand. A red speck appeared on the horizon travelling across the road. Jack struggled to get to the edge of the road. A car approached and was only a few yards away when Jack collapsed.

The vehicle screeched to a halt next to him and a young blond woman stepped out. She ran over to the boy laying by the roadside and lifted his head slightly. As far as she could tell he was still alive. She pulled out her cell phone and dialled 911.

Jack woke up to find his mother leaning over to him. He tried to speak but choked on the thick tube running down his throat. An IV had been inserted into his arm and various monitors surrounding his bed beeped.

"Don't try to speak, honey. You have a breathing tube in your mouth. I can't remove it just yet." His mother stroked his black hair and the side of his face. Tears flowed from the corners of his eyes. She tended to him and checked on him between her shifts on a different ward of the hospital. By the next morning Jack's breathing tube had been removed although his throat was a still little sore. His mother had managed to pull some strings at work and he was discharged from hospital in the afternoon. Jack was resting in the sofa when he heard the doorbell ring.

"I'll get it." his mother said rushing to the door. Moments later he heard his mother arguing with someone in the hall. Jack got up and moved closer to the hallway to listen to what was being said.

"No, Bill, he needs rest." he heard his mother's voice.

"June, please let me talk to the boy. It will only be for a moment." a deep male voice sounded. Jack recognized it as Agent Fowler, an ex-Army Ranger. He was the liaison between the US government's Defence Department and the Autobots.

"It's okay, mum." Jack said as he entered the hallway, he caught a glimpse of himself in the mirror. His mother glared at Agent Fowler, she wasn't pleased that her son had overheard them.

"Well then," she sighed. "You better come to the kitchen. Coffee anyone?"

Agent Fowler nodded and the three of them headed towards the kitchen. They waited for June Darby to make the coffee and place a selection of biscuits on the table. Jack had a warm cup of chocolate milk in front of him, he took a sip.

"Jack," Agent Fowler began. "What have you been told so far?"

"Just that a woman found me by the side of the road outside town and that I was brought to the hospital. How long was I missing?"

"You were gone for three days."

"Only three?" Jack looked down at the edge of his cup. His mother squeezed his hand reassuringly. "It seemed like so much longer."

"Can you tell me who took you?"

"It was Silas... MECH..."

"Good. What else can you remember, son?"

"Darkness. I was tied down. I... I... remember..." Jack groaned, his head hurt as he focused on the memories flooding back to him. "Arcee." Then he looked up at Agent Fowler. "Did you find her?"

"I'm afraid not. MECH must still have her."

Jack felt himself boil with anger and pressed his teeth hard against each other.

"Jack," his mum pulled him closer to her and rubbed his back soothingly. "I think that's enough for now, Bill."

"Just one more question, June, please." Jack's mother nodded and the agent continued. "Jack, could you tell me what happened before they took you and your partner?"

The young man breathed in deeply before replying, the memories painful. "Arcee and I were in the forest, we had run diagnostics on her long range scanners. Then we went for a ride in the forest when she picked up a strange signal. We decided to check it out. That's when we were ambushed and I was hit from behind then I blacked out."

"Thank you, son, we'll find her. I promise." he looked at Jack, his dark brown eyes were sincere. "Thanks for the coffee, June. I better get back to the agency and report in."

With that his mother saw agent Fowler out the door.

Two days later Jack asked his mother to take him to the Autobot base. Everyone was pleased to see him and he was pleased to see them too, even Miko. The Japanese girl jumped on his back the moment she saw him and hugged him so tight he thought he was going to suffocate. Even Rafael gave him a hug which was rather unexpected.

"It is good to have you back, Jack." Said Optimus Prime the leader of the Autobots. He was the tallest of all the 'bots and was about the size of a four story building.

Jack nodded. "It's good to be back." He was just about to ask if they had any trace to where MECH was keeping Arcee captive when the large computer screen behind them bleeped and agent Fowler's face appeared. Ratchet manned the computer control panel and pressed a few buttons. Then they could hear Fowler's voice.

"Optimus, this is agent Fowler. We've got a possible lead on the location of a MECH warehouse that we picked up on satellite. I'm sending you the coordinates now."

Another window appeared on the screen and showed a flashing dot on a map. Jack's heart raced, he felt a fire within burn with determination to get his friend back.

"Thank you, Agent Fowler." Optimus Prime said and then the screen went blank.

"I'm ready when you are Optimus." Jack said clenching his fist in front of him. Everybody turned at looked at Jack. His mother went over to him and put a hand reassuringly on his shoulder.

"Jack, honey, I don't want you going on this rescue mission. Not after what you've been through."

"But mom, we have to get Arcee back. You said before that she's family too."

"Your mother is right." Optimus stood before Jack. "Let us deal with getting Arcee back, I do not wish for you to be put in any dangerous situations until you are fully healed." Jack's heart sank, he felt powerless. Optimus must have picked up on this and gazed at Jack reassuringly. "We will bring her back, Jack, I promise."

Jack stayed long enough to hear the Autobots come up with a plan. They would leave within a day under the cover of darkness. Bumblebee was to survey the area then Optimus and Bulkhead would move in. Ratchet would stay at base for medical assistance. They would storm the base and try to locate Arcee as quick as they could then use the ground bridge to return to their base. It all had to be done with as little human casualties as possible. Jack and Rafael came up with a few ideas to implement into the plan and the Autobots were all set to leave on Optimus's signal.

Jack's mother decided it would be best for her son to go home and rest. It would be a couple of hours before the Autobots left and Ratchet promised to ground bridge him to base as soon as the team returned with Arcee. As he got ready for bed Jack observed himself in the mirror. His left eye was bruised and still a bit swollen, there were several stitches in his forehead and his body was bruised in many places. He slumped down on the bed and sighed. For hours he tossed and turned waiting anxiously for the Autobots to contact him. Soon he drifted off into a deep sleep.


	4. Chapter 4

**A/N Whoa, you guys are insane! Since I uploaded the last chapter I've had over 500 views of this story. I really didn't expect anyone to like it. Thanks to all of you especially those who have provided feedback by following, favouriting or leaving reviews. Enjoy the next chapter.**

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He was going fast, really fast. Beneath him an engine rumbled and he could feel the raw power of the motorbike he was riding. It felt exhilarating. He reached out and caressed the tank cover and smiled. There was someone sitting behind him although he couldn't make out who is was, he knew that it was a woman and that she was holding him. She leaned against him as they sped around corners and he liked the warm feeling he was getting his stomach. When they finally pulled up on top of a mesa his companion dismounted. Jack took off his helmet and so did she. The sun shone in his eyes obscuring her face then her eyes seemed to be glowing a brilliant electric blue. She leaned towards him and he tilted his head slightly they were about to kiss when suddenly he woke up.

Jack thumped the wall in frustration and tried to recall all he could about the dream but it was quickly slipping away from his memory. The phone next to his bed rang, he glanced at the alarm clock 9:24. He grabbed the phone and answered the call.

"Jack, get ready for a ground bridge in about five minutes' time from your garage. They're back and they've got Arcee." Jack wanted to ask how she was but Ratchet had already hung up. Jack felt relieved at last. He sprang up and ran into the hall. "Mom!"

He dashed downstairs taking two steps at a time and found his mother in the kitchen. "Mom, they've found her."

"Oh, Jack." she said and hugged him. He hugged her back and then explained that they only had a few minutes until a ground bridge was going to materialise inside their garage. He didn't even bother to get dressed despite his mother's nagging. Jack opened the door just as the ground bridge appeared and ran through it. A few nanoseconds later he arrived at the base and ran as fast as he could past Bulkhead, Bumblebee and Optimus. He didn't hear them greet him nor did he notice his mother arrive behind him. All he could think about was Arcee. He ran to the Autobot sickbay and found Ratchet fiddling with some instruments. Behind him Arcee was laying on a large platform kind of like a hospital bed but Autobot sized and not so comfortable looking. Her eyes were closed and he took her hand in his once he was by her side.

"Is she okay?" he asked Ratchet.

"She's stable. I've put her into stasis while her body heals."

"But she'll be okay, right?"

"Physically, yes, but I don't know how she'll be when she wakes up."

Ratchet didn't really want to say too much as not to upset Jack. The truth was that MECH had, by the looks of it, tried to dissect parts of her body to examine what they did and then put them back to see if they still worked. Ratchet's main goal at the moment was to stabilise Arcee before attempting any surgery to reconstruct her organs. He had also managed to stop her energon from leaking through some of her wounds. An IV-drip with energon was connected to her energon converter to help her heal. Since Autobots were like organic machines they were able to heal and regenerate like humans, however, if the damage is too severe they would succumb to their wounds and perish.

Jack stroked the back of Arcee's hand. Behind him his mother and the other Autobots entered the room.

"Jack," his mother said coming over to him. She placed a reassuring hand on his shoulder and he turned to her and hugged her. "It's okay," she soothed and rubbed his back. Jack's memories of what had happened came back to him, he didn't speak but just held onto his mother like a scared infant.

Jack let go of his mother and wiped his eyes on his sleeve then looked up at the Autobots.

"Thank you for bringing her back,"

The next few days Jack didn't leave Arcee's side, he wanted to be there for her when she woke up. His mother brought him food and clean clothes every day. At night he would curl up in his sleeping bag and lay next to his friend. Miko and Raf had spent time with Jack trying to distract him and get him up and about though Jack was adamant he stayed by Arcee's side. June was worried about her son but being a nurse she knew there was physically nothing wrong with him and little she could do to persuade her son to come home. Optimus didn't mind him being at the base 24/7 and commented that it was admirable how he wanted to stay by his friend's side.

The fourth morning that Jack was with Arcee Ratchet was running a few diagnostics on her when Jack asked: "Can she hear us?"

Ratchet gave him an odd look.

"Well when humans are in a coma they can sometimes hear and sense people in the room. I didn't know if it was the same for Autobots."

"She's in stasis, Jack, she is completely unaware of our presence."

"Oh..."

"But... if it would make you feel better you could try talking to her."

Even though he knew there was no point he felt that it might cheer Jack up a bit. Humans were strange and emotional creatures and not in a million years had he thought he'd ever see a human care so much for an Autobot. Indeed, humans were puzzling creatures.

In the afternoon Jack was forced to leave the sickbay for Ratchet felt that Arcee was well enough to be operated on and he didn't want anyone present while he was working so he wouldn't be distracted. It was also an opportunity for his mother to take Jack outside in the car to get some 'fresh air'. They didn't say much as his mother figured she'd let her son decided if he wanted to speak rather than force him. A few hours later and they pulled up at the Autobot base. Jack rushed to Ratchet's sickbay while his mother stayed with Optimus and the others.

Ratchet had just finished when he arrived and smiled at Jack as he entered. Jack felt relieved he knew everything was all right and that the doctor had done his job. He went over and took Arcee's hand in his and kissed the back of it then pressed it against his cheek.

"I'm glad you're okay," he whispered.

Jack didn't know when exactly he'd fallen asleep next to Arcee, he'd spent a long time just talking to her about trivial things and how he'd hoped she'd get better soon. It made him feel less lonesome imagining her talking back to him in his mind, they were having whole conversations together while he watched her resting. He even suggested they could take a trip to a beach where there were no humans just the two of them to watch the sun set. He described what a beach was like and how the ocean lapped at the sand, then went on to describe the beautiful shades of orange, pink and yellow the sky was.

Someone stroked his hair and he slowly opened his eyes.

"Mom?" he said wearily.

"No, guess again." a female voice replied.

Jack blinked and slowly a pair of electric blue optics came into focus, then a silver face and a graceful smile. For a moment he thought he was dreaming.

"Arcee?"

"The one and only," she joked as the young man sat up next to her.

"How long have you been awake?"

"Oh, a while. I was watching you sleep. You know you snore when you sleep?"

Jack raised an eyebrow as if to say 'really?'. Arcee nodded. They both smiled and gazed into each other's eyes. Jack was still holding her hand and when he realised he quickly let go and blushed. Arcee lifted her hand and stroked his black hair with the tips of her fingers. They were suddenly interrupted by the sound of someone clearing their throat. Ratchet came up behind Jack holding a scanning device in his hand.

"I need to run a few more diagnostics just to check if all your systems are up and running." he said to the female Autobot. "I brought you out of stasis to see how well you would respond. So far so good." he continued as he waved his scanner in front of Arcee. "Although I'd advise some more rest and at least a week off of active duty."

Arcee rolled her eyes she was raring to go, it felt like she had been asleep for aeons.

"I feel fine, doc, I really do." She stood up from the sickbed and wobbled slightly on her legs. Ratchet held onto her to stop her from falling.

"I'm okay," she insisted. "My gyroscopes just needed to adjust." then she began to walk around on her own. "See fine."

"Still you're not going on any missions until I, your physician, give you the all clear. I shall inform Optimus too."

"Alright, alright," Arcee sounded annoyed. "You coming?" she turned to Jack and hinted with her eyes to the exit of the sickbay. He nodded and followed. Once they were in the corridor out of Ratchet's hearing range Arcee thanked Jack for staying by her side. Ratchet had told her how the small human had been there all the time.

"What are friends for?" Jack smiled at her as he walked next to her. "But really Arcee, are you sure you're okay? I mean I could hear you in pain while we were locked up."

Suddenly Arcee stopped and knelt down so that she was down to his level.

"Arachnid tortured me for centuries, Jack. What they did was nothing compared to that. I thought you knew I was tougher than that." She tapped her fingers against the back of her other hand and it made a gentle clang sound.

"I know... I just care about you that's all, Cee."

Her optics widened a little at his remark, she felt her spark pulsate faster. A human care for her? They were friends so of course they cared for each other but this was different. The tone of his voice was sincere and she got the distinct feeling that he actually meant more than he had said. She rose to her feet and hinted they carried on walking. She observed him as they walked trying to read his body language. No luck.


	5. Chapter 5

**A/N Hello dear readers, thanks so far for the feedback. I hope you are enjoying this story as much as I am writing it. Now for the next chapter. Enjoy~**

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Now that Arcee was recovering Jack's mother insisted her son return to school. Jack woke up already groaning at the long day ahead. No Arcee to drive him to school and his mother had already left for work, which meant he had to ride his bike. Jack couldn't really concentrate much at school; he was scolded at by his teachers several times during the day for not paying attention. The truth was he was thinking about Arcee. During break times he hung out with Raf and Miko, at least he could talk to them about the Autobots. After school he had a shift at the K.O. burger, his least favourite job in the whole world. He was berated by the local school bully as usual and then yelled at by his boss. By the time work was finished he felt exhausted and just wanted to go home to his bed.

"Hey there, Smooth Operator," said a voice as Jack walked towards where his bicycle was chained. He spun round.

"Arcee," he was surprised and happy to see her. "Did you get the all clear from Ratchet?" Jack asked as he swung his leg over her frame and mounted her.

"I'm fine, Jack, let's just go. I'm aching to go for a ride."

"Did you bring my helmet, Cee?"

"Oh, right. It's still at your house. We'll pick it up on the way." And with that she revved her engine and kicked up dust as they sped off towards Jack's house.

They pulled up outside Jack's house and there was a black Mercedes with tinted windows parked outside. Jack wondered who it belonged to, he hadn't seen that car before. He noticed the lights were dimmed as well. Jack got off of Arcee and went inside the house. Arcee readied her weapons systems in case there was trouble.

"Mom?" Jack called out. He flicked on the light in the hall. Still no reply. He flicked the light on in the living room and was taken aback by what he saw. There was his mother with her head asleep on none other than Agent Fowler's lap. Both of them were sat on the sofa in front of the tv; the end credits of a film rolled across the screen.

"Agent Fowler, what are you doing here?" he was puzzled. "Is my mom okay?"

"She's fine, just tired." he caressed the sleeping woman on his lap. "June, wake up Jack's home."

"What?" his mother sat bolt upright. Jack was still trying to put together the pieces of what he saw in front of him. "Jack, honey, you're back early."

"Arcee gave me a lift home. What's going on, mom?"

His mother sighed. "Well I supposed you would have found out sooner or later anyway. Sit down." she waved at the armchair next to where she was sitting and he took a seat. "Bill and I have been dating for the past few months."

"What? Mom, I can't believe I'm hearing this."

"Honey, I was going to tell you eventually."

"I knew you were dating but I didn't expect it to be _him_." Jack rose from his seat angrily. He felt rather hurt and betrayed by his mother's lack of trust towards him. He was nearly eighteen, nearly an adult. And why of all people did she have to be dating the guy who was practically Jack's second boss when he was on the Autobot base. It was just too awkward. Jack stormed out of the living room and grabbed his helmet from the garage. He didn't want to walk back through the house and left via the garage.

"Jack?" Arcee could tell he was angry about something.

"Let's go," he growled as he mounted her and placed his helmet on his head. She could sense his anger and hadn't known him to be this mad before. Most of the time he was pretty relaxed, sure he could get annoyed but cross like this was something else.

"Where too?"

"Anywhere," he spat at her. She felt annoyed he was taking his anger out on her, she knew he didn't mean to although she found it rude he was.

They rode in silence through the darkness. Jack didn't know where Arcee was taking him at first but then he started to realise where they were heading. Arcee went off road and now they were heading toward the rocky outcrop they had previously been to. Jack had pretty much calmed down by the time they reached the top.

"Cee, I'm sorry I yelled at you." he said to his friend once he'd dismounted.

"Wanna talk about it?" she suggested as she transformed back into her more comfortable form.

"Well no... not really."

"Okay." Arcee sat down and waited for Jack to join her.

"Well... alright." Jack said as he went over and sat next to her. He explained what had happened when he got home. He told Arcee the disappointment he felt that his mum didn't trust him enough to tell him about her relationship. And he also told her about the terrible day he'd had. She placed her hand on his shoulder and just listened.

"Oh, Cee," he sighed looking up at her. "I've been so worried about you the past two weeks. I've hardly slept and I can't stop thinking about you. I really care about you, you know."

"Jack. I-" she was cut off by Jack.

"No, it's okay Cee. I know it's stupid. We're just friends. Forget I said anything." He got up hating himself for suddenly blurting out such nonsense but it was the truth. He didn't know what he hoped for by telling her his feelings. She was a Cybertronian and he was a human. The word stupid went round in his mind. Just a crush he convinced himself.

Arcee reached out her arm as Jack walked away from her and stopped him.

"It's okay, Jack. I appreciate that you care." she smiled. It was nice to know someone cared about her and it gave her a warm feeling inside, not the kind you get from when you drink fresh energon but something different.

"You know," Arcee began staring up at the stars. "Ever since Cliffjumper... passed on... I had felt empty until I met you Jack."

The human turned and looked into her glowing optics. She was opening up to him for the first time in all the years he'd known her. He had always thought of her as a strong female, dare he say woman, and now the veil that hid her true feelings was starting to slip.

She continued: "And I guess I-"

Suddenly Arcee's communicator bleeped.

"Scrap." She rolled her optics in annoyance and answered it.

"Arcee, where in Primus's sake are you?" It was Ratchet and he sounded annoyed.

"I'm just outside Jasper. I needed some fresh air." she replied rather sarcastically.

"Ha, ha, very funny." the medic said dryly. "I didn't give you the all clear so get your shiny metal behind back to base or do I have to send a groundbridge and drag you back?"

"It's just one more day and it's not like I'm out on a mission." Arcee argued rather like a teen who had been caught breaking curfew.

"Doctor's orders, Arcee."

"Fine, see you back at base." then she looked at Jack. "Wanna come?"

He nodded, as he didn't want to go home just yet, and mounted Arcee once she was in her vehicle mode and they raced off into the night.

Back at base they were met by a rather annoyed Ratchet. Arcee brushed off his remarks and joined the other 'bots in the command centre hub.

"Sup Jack?" Bulkhead asked as he wasn't used to seeing Jack at the base this time of day. Miko and Raf had long gone home.

"Mom problems." he said casually sitting down in the old sofa, which was in a corner set up by the Autobots to accommodate humans. There was a television, refrigerator, a small snack bar and even some blankets. Jack grabbed one of the blankets, it was colder at night and the base didn't have any heating. "Mind if I crash here?"

Bumblebee, the yellow Autobot, bleeped and whistled. Jack didn't understand what he had said but a second later Bulkhead and Arcee both chuckled.

"Sure, no problem." Bulkhead said. "Make yourself at home."

Jack turned on the television the film War of the Worlds was playing. He flicked through a few channels then decided there wasn't much else on TV and went back to the film. Arcee sat down near him so she could see the television. She was curious about human culture and films were one of those strange things she had learned to enjoy with Jack and the others around. The film she was watching was pretty entertaining; humans running around screaming as giant spaceships took them and devoured them. What nonsense humans came up with but it was proof as to why the existence of the Autobots had to remain a secret. While she was watching the film her communicator bleeped. She had received a text message from June:

 _Is Jack with you?_

 _Yes_. Arcee replied.

 _Do you know what time you guys will be back?_

 _Jack wants to stay here, hope that's okay._

 _Can you ring me when he's asleep? I'd like to talk to you._

 _Will do June._

 _Thanks Arcee._

The film ended and Jack yawned. Bumblebee and Bulkhead had already gone off to their quarters to rest for the night.

"I better get some sleep, Cee." he turned the television off and lay down on the sofa.

"You sure you're going to be able to sleep okay here?"

"Yeah," Jack replied with another yawn. Arcee picked up another blanket and laid it across Jack then ran her fingers through his hair.

"It's going to be cold tonight." she said.

"Thanks, Cee."

"Night, Jack."

"Night."

Arcee headed down the hall to her quarters and phoned Jack's mother to let her know that her son was alright.

"Hey Arcee, thanks for calling me back."

"No problem June."

"Is he still mad at me?"

"He's fine now. I'll bring him home in the morning."

"I just didn't expect him to find out about Bill and I so soon. He's been under a lot of stress lately and I'm sure he's still not right after being held captive. I know my son puts up a brave face but deep down he's a sensitive soul. I had hoped to tell him once things had settled down."

Of course Arcee had already known that June and Bill were dating. June had confided in Arcee one evening when Jack was upstairs doing his homework. Unknown to Jack his mother and Arcee often talked, they had struck up somewhat of a bond over the years. Arcee had saved her life once and she had accepted the metal titan as one of the family.

"Ever since his father left, I've been alone. I guess I'm starting to realise that one day Jack isn't going to be here. He'll be leaving to college next year and who knows what will happen after that. I'm hoping he'll find a nice girl to settle down with. It's always been about Jack but now I need to start thinking of myself."

"Yeah..." Arcee thought about college. Jack had mentioned it before. There was a college in Las Vegas he wanted to attend although that would mean they wouldn't be able to see each other as much. He could hardly keep her in his room even if she was in vehicle mode. She would miss Jack too and knew how June felt.

"It would be a relief if he could meet a girl like you. Well not you of course. I mean like you but you know... a human."

That last remark kind of hurt. She knew June didn't mean anything hurtful by it yet Arcee felt a slight pain inside her. It was a feeling she wasn't used to. Then again June was right. Arcee and Jack were friends, anything more would be impossible. They were just too different to be compatible. Too many factors to consider and she would likely outlive him even if they overcame the species barrier. She wondered why she was thinking of such things while talking to his mother on the phone. It seemed somewhat inappropriate she was thinking of her best friend's son in such a way.

"Arcee? I didn't offend you did I?" June asked wondering why Arcee was suddenly so quiet.

"No, not at all." Arcee lied. "Jack cares about you a lot June and I think that's why he was so upset. He doesn't want you to get hurt again."

"You're right, Arcee. I know these matters may seem trivial what with the war you've been fighting all these years but thanks for listening. Thanks for being a good friend to Jack and I."

"That's alright, June."

"I better go. It's gone 1 a.m. I'll see you guys tomorrow. Good night Arcee."

"Goodnight, June."

Arcee stepped up onto her berth and got comfortable. She closed her optics and powered down to her rest cycle.


	6. Chapter 6

**A/N Hello dear readers, I'm glad you are enjoying this story so far. I'd like to announce that the next upload will be in 2 weeks time as next weekend I'm going to a convention and also have a lot of work for school.**

 **Enjoy~**

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A few days later things had settled down between Jack and his mother and he was back at home. Bill Fowler had also talked with him while he was at the base. He told Jack that he knew he couldn't replace his father but he was willing to be his friend. They'd shaken hands and agreed that that was best.

Jack was at the Autobot base with Miko and Raf. The autobots were out on a mission so it was just the three of them and Ratchet at the base. Miko and Raf were playing a games on Raf's game's console and Jack was watching them while half falling asleep. He hadn't slept very well the previous night because of some of the bad dreams he'd been having. He'd dreamed he was still being held captive at MECH's compound and Arcee was calling his name begging for his help. Reliving what he had been through had really shaken him up. He was lost deep in thought when he was interrupted by Miko's whoop of victory. She had finally beaten Raf at one of his games after at least one hundred attempts.

"Aww man, I can't wait to tell Bulk when he gets back." She grabbed Rafael and playfully rubbed her knuckles against the top of his head.

"Hey cut it out." he exclaimed pushing her off and trying to flatten his messed up hair. Miko stuck her tongue out.

"You okay, Jack?" Raf asked when he saw his friend sitting solemnly in the sofa. "I've got another controller so the three of us can go head to head if you like."

"Nah, I'm good."

"Aw come on Jack, join in. It'll cheer you up." Miko held out her controller with an impish smile.

"I'm not really into video games. I'm going to go for a walk." Raf looked at Miko and she looked back at him and shrugged as Jack left the hub.

He didn't know where he was walking to and just walked aimlessly around the base. He stuck to the main corridors but soon lost track of where he was so tried to retrace his steps. Eventually he found himself in a room he hadn't been to before, it was empty except for a berth and an empty storage container with some objects on top. Jack figured he must have found one of the Autobots' sleeping quarters. He went to leave but curiosity got the better of him and wondered to which Autobot this room belonged. He made his way to the berth and climbed up then jumped onto the container. There were a few Cybertronian devices one which he recognised was a data transfer device but the others were unknown to him. Then there was a piece of a metal horn and next to that a picture frame. Jack picked it up and saw it contained a picture of team Prime it was one his mother had taken a few months ago. Optimus was as the back of the picture standing taller than the other Autobots, Ratchet was standing next to him, then in front were Bumblebee, Bulkhead and Arcee. Miko was sitting on Bulkhead's shoulder and Raf was standing on Bumblebee's hand. His eyes moved to Arcee and he saw himself in the picture casually standing next to her with his hand on her equivalent to a human shin. All of them were smiling. He noticed Arcee wasn't looking straight at the camera instead she was looking at him and he seemed to be looking back at her.

"Jack!" from behind him a stern female voice called his name. It made him jump and he accidentally dropped the picture. The glass in its frame cracked.

"Arcee, I'm sorry. I didn't know you'd be back already." he noticed she didn't look pleased that he was there. Her hand reached towards him and she scooped him up then set him by the doorway.

"Out!" she said and closed the large metal door behind him. Jack was taken aback and wondered what he had done wrong. Perhaps there was something she didn't want him to see. He sighed and eventually found his way back to the hub. He asked Ratchet for a groundbridge home and slumped down on his bed and fell asleep.

Jack awoke a few hours later when his phone rang, it was Arcee.

"Hey, Cee." he yawned.

"Were you asleep?"

"Kind of." he paused and then added: "I'm sorry for whatever I did that upset you."

"It's okay Jack."

"Still friends?"

"Always." Arcee smiled as she put the phone down. She took the broken picture, it was about the size of a large postage stamp in her hand. In the other hand she picked up the broken piece of Cliffhangers horn and held the piece of her deceased partner close to her spark chamber.

"Oh Cliff." she said out aloud. "I wish at times you were still here but then I see my friend Jack and he reminds me so much of you. You guys would have gotten along great."

It was late December and Jack was packing for his school trip. They would be heading up the mountains to go skiing and stay two nights in a log cabin. The only downside was that only kids from his homeroom would be attending which meant no Raf and Miko. Next to his suitcase was his phone, it was on loudspeaker and he was talking to Arcee. He was explaining to her what skiing was and why humans enjoyed it. She was bemused by the many strange things humans did. Since Jack had a heavy suitcase to take with him, his mother was going to drop him off at school today. Arcee would follow with Sadie, her human shaped hologram, turned on. It would have looked rather strange to see a motorbike driving by itself hence why Sadie was created.

Jack's mother pulled up outside the school building followed by Arcee and a few heads turned to see the slim leather clad woman riding Jack's motorcycle. Vince, a rival of Jack's, glared jealously at Jack as he got out of the car. He grabbed his suitcase from the car boot.

"Are you sure you've got everything you need?" his mother called out from the front of the car.

"Yes mom," he rolled his eyes as he slammed the boot shut. He looked around and was well aware that quite a few pupils were looking at Arcee, so much for her trying not to draw attention to herself.

Arcee increased the sensitivity of her audio receiver and heard the pupils whispering amongst themselves wondering if it was Jack's girlfriend atop of his motorcycle. One pupil commented that Jack was too much of a loser to have a girlfriend which annoyed Arcee to the point that if she could she would have transformed and given the kid a piece of her mind. If only they knew how many times Jack had saved the planet from the Decepticons and he'd even been to Cybertron to save Optimus Prime. She was peeved she couldn't do more to help him but then had an idea.

"Hey Smooth Operator," she said as Jack was about to walk away from the car. "How about a kiss before you leave?"

Jack turned to look at Arcee a look of bewilderment across his face. He questioned if he'd heard her right.

"Come on, Jack." Arcee said a little more seductively. "Don't leave your girlfriend waiting."

He went over to Arcee and whispered to about where Sadie's ear would be behind her helmet.

"Cee, what's up."

"Vince." she replied and Jack looked at the burley high school senior who was looking in their direction. "You'll thank me for it later."

He was feeling somewhat hesitant and put his arm carefully around the hologram then gently planted a kiss on the helmet of the hologram. It was strange because it didn't feel as if he was kissing anything just air. His free hand caressed Arcee's fuel tank gently. Jack was blushing when he pulled away.

"Bye, Cee." he said and stood up more proudly as he realised Vince was now staring open mouthed at him. He went over to his mother still blushing somewhat.

"What was that all about?" she asked raising an eyebrow.

"Nothing, mom. I'll see you in three days' time. Bye." and with that he left and boarded the bus ready to take him and the others in his homeroom to their destination.

The bus ride was dull but at least it was interesting as some guys who he'd barely spoken to before came and sat next to him. They were part of the cool crowd that hung out around Vince and seemed to think Jack was interesting enough to hang out around them now that they had seen his 'hot' girlfriend. They even offered him a place in their cabin much to Vince's disgust.

That evening he sent Arcee a text message: "I owe you one, partner."

She sent him back a smiley face.

The second day of the school trip the pupils were going skiing in the morning. Jack had wrapped up warm and had chosen a snowboard rather that skis. Vince pulled up next to him on his snowboard.

"Hey, loser, wanna race?" the burly teen said.

"No, thanks." replied Jack as he wasn't really in the mood to race. He had other things on his mind, mainly Arcee.

"So," said Vince. "How much did you pay her?"

"What?" Jack replied surprised.

"That chick who was riding your motorcycle. You're too much of a loser to have a girl like that, I bet she's just a girl you paid to pretend to be your girlfriend to impress everybody." he replied smugly.

If only Vince could see the real Arcee, Jack thought, then he wouldn't be saying things like that. She'd surely wipe the smug look off of his face. Jack could feel himself getting slightly angry at the teen and tried to brush it off.

"I mean come on, she didn't even take her helmet off when you kissed her. I bet she was too embarrassed to be seen with you" Vince continued then the next minute he felt Jack's fist smash into the side of his face and he fell backwards.

Jack was kind of surprised at first not quite realising what he had done, he'd tried to stay calm but that last remark had pushed him over the edge.

"You want to race? Then fine let's race." Jack said angrily and sped off towards the chairlift. Vince raced past him a few seconds later and got there first.

"Meet you at the top, or should I say bottom."

Jack shook with rage and got on the chair behind Vince. Minutes later they were at the top of the mountain. Both teens ignored the warning signs that the piste was only for advanced skiers and took off down the slope. Jack was lighter than Vince which gave him an advantage in speed. He easily took the lead. Then his rival went off-piste and into the tree line. As Jack weaved in and out of the trees he could see Vince was getting ahead of him. The trees where Vince was skiing were further apart so he had to weave less than Jack and it meant that he was gaining an advantage.

Without thinking Jack followed Vince and went off-piste. The two teens were neck and neck racing down the mountainside Jack was starting to overtake him when in the background they could hear a rumbling sound.

They got to about halfway down the slope when Jack could feel the snow beneath him starting to move, a few seconds later the snow beneath him gave way and he felt himself being dragged under. He struggled frantically with his arms to grab something so he could pull himself up but snow came crashing down behind him pushing him deep into the snowy crevice that had opened up. Then it was dark and cold. He couldn't move and the snow was pressing against his chest making it hard to breathe.


	7. Chapter 7

**Hello dear readers,**

 **I had hoped to get this chapter up sooner. I'm currently very busy with school work so the next chapters will be uploaded slower as I need to find time to write. I've a huge dissertation for my bachelor's degree due before the Christmas Holiday. I'm doing research on the English pronunciation if anyone is interested. Well anyway I hope you enjoy this short chapter.**

 **Enjoy~**

* * *

June Darby was enjoying her morning lie in. It was weekend so she didn't have to work and nor did she have to get up to cook breakfast. She yawned and cuddled in against her partner, Bill Fowler, and he put his arm around her. Finally, she had a chance to relax and not worry about a thing or at least she thought. Moments later her mobile phone rang and she groaned as she rolled over to the other side of the bed to grab it of the bedside table.

"Hello."

Bill moved over to June and caressed her arm.

"Yes, this is June Darby." then there was a moment's pause. "What?" she said suddenly sitting up looking worried. "I understand... Thank you."

"What is it, June?" Bill asked once she'd put the phone down.

"It's Jack, there was an avalanche during his school trip. Him and another boy were snowboarding when it happened. They've sent out a search party." she replied tearfully. Bill put his arms around her and hugged her. She was a strong woman and this was the first time he'd seen her so vulnerable looking.

"He's all I have. I don't know what I'd do if..."

"Shhh, Sugar. They'll find him." he held her close and kissed her forehead. "Come on we'll get dressed and get Ratchet to bridge us out there. That way we can be there for him as soon as they get him to the nearest hospital."

Agent Fowler rang Ratchet and had filled him in on the situation while June was getting dressed and within minutes they were both at the Autobot base. As soon as the groundbridge had dematerialised Ratchet began punching in the next set of coordinates.

"June, what's wrong." Arcee came over she could tell by the look on her face that she was worried.

"It's Jack, there was an avalanche. He's trapped." she explained quickly.

"Scrap," Arcee replied. "I'm going with you."

"No, Arcee, there isn't anything you can do to help. An Autobot on the mountainside would draw too much attention." Agent Fowler said. "We'll keep you up to date."

Arcee was annoyed but she knew they were right. Suddenly the electric green glow of the groundbridge materialised.

"Alright," Arcee nodded and with that June and Bill disappeared through the groundbridge.

Jack didn't know how long he'd been trapped but he could feel it getting harder and harder to breathe. The snow around his body had melted somewhat and he was able to move his arms up. He started to dig not knowing how deep he was buried yet hoping he would be able to reach the surface before his air ran out.  
As he struggled to make his way up he could hear a faint voice in the distance. Light was starting to pass through the snow, he knew he was nearly out. One last handful of snow and he could feel the cool fresh air rush in. He rested and caught his breath before pulling himself out of what would have been his icy grave. Jack couldn't feel his fingers or toes, especially his fingers felt very painful.

Again he suddenly heard a faint voice and looked around the mountainside to see if there were any rescue workers. Nothing but snow. He called out and the voice called back to him. Then he realised who the voice might belong to: Vince. Now Jack felt conflicted, as much as he hated Vince he couldn't just leave him to die. Jack called and listened hard. He walked around trying to pinpoint where Vince was trapped under the snow. It was difficult to tell exactly where he was because the snow muffled his shouting. When he was sure he was on top of Vince he started to dig even though his whole hands hurt. He dug deeper and deeper but then listened again. He wasn't in the right place so he took a few steps to his left and began to dig again. This time as he dug he could hear Vince's shouting getting louder until he pulled back another handful of snow and saw his rival. He helped pull him out and the pair sat breathing heavily in the snow. Since they had been buried the weather had taken a turn for the worse and it was snowing hard.

Moments later a helicopter soared overhead and Jack got up and waved his arms. Vince couldn't move, his leg had been injured during the fall. Sure enough the helicopter pilot had spotted them and he carefully manoeuvred the helicopter above them. One of the rescuers ascended on a rope to assess the situation. He told them they were lucky to be alive and he signalled to his co-worker that they needed a stretcher. The stretcher was lowered and Jack helped put Vince on there so he could be hoisted to safety. With Vince safely aboard the helicopter it was Jack's turn next, however, the weather was getting worse. The helicopter pilot was having to constantly make adjustments to keep the aircraft steady. A second rope was lowered for Jack when suddenly felt the ground give way for the second time today.

Arcee's communicator rang, it was June. She quickly answered it.

"Have they found him?"

"No," replied June and by the sound of her voice Arcee could tell something was seriously wrong.

"What is it June?"

"There's been a second avalanche. The weather won't allow for them to send out a search party." she paused for a moment and gathered herself. "By the time the weather clears I'll will be too late..."

Arcee paused for a moment, her neural circuits were trying to take everything in. Then she said: "I won't let that happen to Jack. He's my partner, I'm going to find him. I swear to you June on the AllSpark that I will find him."

"Arcee..."

"I'm going to talk to Optimus, he owes Jack for saving him." and with that Arcee hung up and rushed into the command centre hub. She explained the situation to Optimus and Ratchet. Despite his reservations Optimus allowed Arcee and Bumblebee to head through the groundbridge. Ratchet had issued them a hand held bio-signal scanner so that they hopefully would be able to find Jack despite the task ahead being like looking for a needle in haystack.

The groundbridge materialised near to where the avalanche had happened, Arcee and Bumblebee were vigilant as there was a risk of another avalanche. The weather was starting to worsen hindering their vision. Under her feet Arcee could feel how soft the snow was and tread cautiously. The scanner bleeped but wasn't registering any signs of life as they trudged through the harsh environment.

"Ratchet, I'm going to try track Jack's cell phone signal. It might help us narrow down our search a bit more." Arcee radioed the base as she scanned the area for any frequencies emitted by mobile devices.

"Affirmative." Ratchet replied even though he doubted it would help.

Bumblebee also started to track Jack's mobile phone signal. Time was of the importance and the snow was falling really hard now.

Under the snow Jack came too. He had a splitting headache, his ribs hurt and he had no idea how long he had been unconscious. Again the snow pinned his body down and he could feel himself getting more and more tired as the cold crept slowly over him. His hands and feet were numb and he was barely hanging on, the only thought that kept him going was that he would be rescued again and be reunited with Arcee. Thoughts of her filled his mind as he began to drift into a state of unconsciousness again. He imagined seeing her face appear through the snow and her hand reaching down and pulling him out. Her smile filled him with warmth as he was lifted up towards the heavens and closed his eyes not wanting this feeling to end.

Bumblebee and Arcee had taken shelter in a cave. Outside a snowstorm was raging and they had no way to contact base until it passed but at least their mission had been successful. Arcee cradled the limp body of Jack in her arms. It had been about ten minutes since they had rescued him and he still wasn't stirring. The bio-scanner indicated he was alive but very weak. Bumblebee bleeped disapprovingly as Arcee explained her idea.  
"Look Bee, it's the only other idea I have. If we don't warm him up, I'm afraid it'll be too late by the time we're able to signal to base and get a groundbridge out of here."

The yellow bot nodded and Arcee turned away from him and placed Jack on one of her hands. She carefully undid part of her armour to be able to open up her Spark chamber and carefully placed Jack near the warmth it was emitting. The blue light of her Spark washed over Jack and after a few minutes she noticed his skin change from bluish-white to more of a mottled pink.

"I think it's working, Bee." She smiled as she continued to hold Jack close. He looked so weak. Hesitantly Bumblebee shuffled over and gave her the bio-scanner. Sure enough Jack's heartbeat was getting stronger. Arcee caressed his cheek with her finger to try to rouse him but so far he didn't seem to be waking up.

Jack opened his eyes and was surrounded by a blue light and silvery mist. He reached out his hand and it swirled around him. _Am I dead?_ He wondered as he continued to make his way through the mist towards the source of the blue light. In the distance he could hear a voice, it sounded pleasant and familiar. As he drew closer to the light the voice became clearer, it was calling his name. He felt himself warm and noticed two blue orbs. His vision went blurry and then a pair of eyes came into focus, but not human eyes, cobalt blue eyes belong to ...

"Arcee," he smiled as his hands reached out towards her and he placed his hand on her cheek. She embraced him with relief, he was going to be okay. Bumblebee whirred with joy.

"Ratchet, we need a groundbridge now."

* * *

Note: I actually had to look up if it was possible for mobile phone signals to pass through snow for this chapter. Apparently phone signals can be traced up to 7 feet deep in snow. Drones are being developed to find avalanche victims by tracking the frequencies given off by mobile phones. How cool is that!


	8. Chapter 8

**Hello dear readers,**

 **I finally managed to find some time between school assignments to complete another chapter. Thanks for all the follows, favourites and reviews. They're really motivational. This chapter is a bit longer than the previous chapter because I had planned on putting chapter 7 & 8 into one chapter but then it was a bit too long so I split it. **

**Enjoy~**

* * *

Jack woke up in a hospital bed, the second in the last six months, and looked around the room. He was surprised to see agent Fowler at the end of his bed who was busy reading through an official looking file.

"Ah, Jack, I'm glad you're awake."

"Where's mom?" he asked started to sit up.

"She went to go get some coffee so she'll be back soon." He replied and tucked the file away in the crook of his arm.

"Why are you here?"

"She didn't want you to be alone when you woke up,"

"I see..."

Jack was still feeling weak, his body felt sore but he was glad to be alive. He talked with Fowler for a while until his mother returned. It was a miracle he had survived and that the 'bots had even found him. Agent Fowler explained how they had devised a plan to keep him stable until the authorities found him, he'd been called a miracle survivor and had even made the state newspaper. That's why his mother and Fowler didn't want to leave him alone since there were reporters trying to get in to interview him.

Arcee waited nervously back at base, she couldn't visit her partner since you couldn't really disguise a 15 ft Cybertronian to fit inside a hospital. Thankfully June gave Arcee daily updates on how Jack was doing and once Jack's fingers hurt less from the frostbite he was able to text. She was in the middle of answering a text from Jack when Bumblebee knocked at Arcee's door and asked how she was doing. She signalled for him to enter and said with a heavy sigh.

"To be honest, Bee, I've been worse."

He whirred and clicked then placed his hand reassuringly on her shoulder.

"Thanks, I'll let you know if there's anything I need."

Once Bumblebee had left she laid down on her berth and turned towards the picture of team prime on her bedside table. Her optics focused on Jack and she slowly powered down to rest.

After a week in hospital Jack was able to go home to finish recovering. As he was leaving the hospital he noticed one of the reporters that had been outside his room the past few days. She came over to him asking for an interview but agent Fowler brushed her aside. Arcee was out on a mission so she wasn't able to meet him but she promised that as soon as she got back she would drop by. The drive home was long and Jack noticed how his mother kept looking at agent Fowler as he drove the car. He was starting to get used to their relationship. Jack wondered if he'd ever find a girlfriend, sure he liked Sierra but there was someone he liked more… Arcee. He gave a deep sigh; he knew it was impossible though yet he couldn't help the way he felt towards her he longed to see her so he hoped he could meet her when she got back from her mission.

"Hey mom, do you think we could go to the autobot base? I kind of want to say hi to everyone first since I haven't seen them in over a week."

Agent Fowler, who was driving, looked at his mother "June?"

"Well alright then but not too long."

They pulled up and got out of the car just as the groundbridge dematerialised, perfect timing. Arcee and Bulkhead, who were both carrying large energon blocks, had returned from their mission. The only way they could get their precious energy supply was from stealing it from Decepticons. Arcee slammed the blocks down on the floor; she didn't see Jack and cried out when she realised how close she had been to squashing him.

"Jack! What are you doing there? I almost killed you!"

"It's pretty hard to kill me these days." He said cockily "besides I'm fast enough to move out of the way."

"One of these days you're going to run out of luck, champ." She gave him a gentle poke in the ribs.

"It's okay Cee, with you around watching my back I'll be fine." He smiled as he brushed away her large hand playfully.

"Jack!" Miko came running up to him and embraced him as tight as she could.

"Careful, Miko," said Bulkhead and she let Jack go.

"We were so worried." She piped.

"I'm glad you're okay. " Raf said as he came over and Miko pulled them into a group hug.

"Alright, I think Jack needs some room to breathe." Jack's mother said and the others let him go.

"It's good to have you back, Jack." Arcee gave a little smile. She felt relieved he was okay, she didn't know what she would do if she had lost another partner, especially one she cared so much about.

Jack said his goodbyes and headed home to rest. Arcee still had some work to do at base but promised she'd join Jack later.

Jack was well enough to go back to school and Arcee dropped him off as usual. It was another one of those boring school days. Vince had been temporarily suspended which meant he didn't have to put up with the bullying. Sierra had suddenly taken a liking to Jack and offered him a seat at her table during lunch. He didn't know the others sitting with her and he figured she was only interested in sitting with him because the top dog Vince wasn't around. He politely declined and sat as usual with Rafael and Miko, much to Sierra's disgust.

Later on when he went to his locker he noticed a note sticking out the side of it. He wondered who it was from and read it.

 _I know about them._

It said and included a blurry picture of Arcee and Jack while he was sitting on her in her vehicle mode. He swore and looked around.

The next moment his mobile phone buzzed in his pocket and he pulled it out quickly. There was a text from an unknown number which read.

 _Meet me at 6:30 pm by the back of the K.O. Burger of you want to know more._

School had finished and it was time to work his part-time job, Arcee was waiting patiently at the school curb with Bulkhead and Bumblebee. Sadie seemed a bit more animated than usual for she gave a little wave when she saw Jack. He climbed on board his favourite 'bot and they drove to the K.O. Burger. Jack worked his shift and was anxious about meeting the stranger who had contacted him. He had informed Fowler and the others and they had agreed that Jack was to meet up with this mysterious person with Arcee and Bumblebee hidden nearby in case it was a trap.

6:30 came and Jack was waiting where he was told to wait. Sure enough from the shadows a young woman appeared. She was rather small and mousy looking, her hear was neatly in a ginger bun. Under her arm she carried a file. Jack recognised her as one of the reporters who had been hanging around outside his hospital room. Inside his ear he had a small earpiece so he could hear what agent Fowler said and under his shirt he was wearing a microphone so that the agent could follow the conversation.

"Jack, how nice of you to come. I'm Pollyanna Baynes." she introduced herself and held out her hand.

"You know if you wanted to go on a date there are better ways to ask me out." Jack replied taking her hand tenderly. This was all part of agent Fowler's plan; act like you don't know anything.

"Actually I'm here to talk to you about the robot-men from space." she continued ignoring his remark and removing her hand from his grip.

"Robot-men?"

"Yes, I gave you a picture o-."

"Of my motorcycle," Jack interrupted her snatching the picture from her grasp. "She's a beauty isn't she?"

"Look I'm serious. I know there is no way you could have survived two avalanches. You had to have had help and I know for a fact that your motorcycle and a yellow sports car were seen near where the avalanche happened."

"Careful how you answer this one kid," Agent Fowler whispered into his ear through the ear piece. Back at base Rafael was furiously typing away at a computer console and was bringing up all kinds of conspiracy websites linked to Pollyanna Baynes. It appeared she wasn't a reporter after all but instead one of the theorists trying to prove that aliens were living among the people of earth. Rafael set to work trying to locate Ms. Baynes' computer and hack into it.

"I got lucky, okay." Jack ran a hand through his hair trying to act like a cool and casual guy. "After the first avalanche I managed to get to the surface of the snow along with Vince. Then I managed to find a cave just in time before the second load of snow came tumbling down."

"According to the helicopter pilot you were standing below the helicopter as the ground gave way."

Fowler spoke to Jack: "Tell her you weren't pulled under right away, you still had a few moments."

Jack repeated what Fowler said but she didn't seem to believe him.

"Other than luring me here and showing me pictures of my motorcycle, what else do you want" Jack asked changing the subject and trying to act flirty as Fowler had instructed him.

"I want the truth. "

"What truth? The one where there are robo-men on earth? I doubt anyone is going to believe you."

"So they do exist." She remarked.

"Careful kid." Fowler warned him.

"That's not what I said." Jack tried to remain as calm as possible. He'd almost given away the secret. "A few blurry pictures doesn't prove something exists. Look at bigfoot or the lockness monster. People see a blurry picture and interpret it how they want."

"Well then, I'm not going to stop until I get a clear shot of the robot-men and then I'm going to the national news."

"Good luck with that." Jack said sarcastically and with that Pollyanna Baynes turned heel and left.

Back at the base Rafael had managed to delete all data on the Autobots from Pollyanna's computer. On top of that he'd installed a virus to delete the data of them on any backups or external drives she had as soon as they were connected.

"We'll done, son," Fowler said to Jack. "You did good. My agency will be keeping an eye on Ms. Baynes from now on. If she bothers you again, let me know."

On top of the base Arcee sat alone staring at the sunset. Its beautiful mix of orange and purple with blue mesmerised her. The sunsets in cybertron used to be this beautiful too. She remembered one evening after defeating a particularly hard battalion of Decepticons, she took a moment with Cliffjumper to admire the sunset. Behind her she sensed Jack approaching.

"Bumblebee said I might find you here."

Arcee didn't say anything for she was lost in her thoughts. Her spark still ached a little each time she thought of Cliffjumper and she looked over to the burial mound atop of the base's rocky outcrop, it was the anniversary of his death today.

"Cee?" Jack said noticing her optics fixed on the mound.

Her eyes moved back to him and she sighed. Again that funny little habit she had picked up from him. He reached out and placed his hand on hers.

"I still miss him, Jack'"

"I know," he said reassuringly squeezing her hand. She looked down towards him.

"I'm sure you two would have gotten on great together." She said turning her hand over so Jack's hand was resting in her palm and she wrapped her long fingers around his small hand.

"I'm sure we would have too."

They sat there for a few moments not saying anything, enjoying each other's company and admiring the sunset. Then Jack cleared his throat.

"I still haven't thanked you for saving my life, again."

"What are partners for?" She winked at him.

"There's also something I've been meaning to ask you. I remember a blue light and then a warm tingling sensation. What was it?"

"Oh, that." Arcee shifted uncomfortably and seemed somewhat embarrassed. "Um well… it was… my spark." She answered hesitantly.

"So you used your spark to warm me?"

Arcee nodded but she still seemed a little uneasy about the subject. "Arcee, what's wrong?"

"Well I shouldn't have done that."

"Why not? You saved my life. I'm really grateful."

"You don't get it Jack." She looked away unable to look him in the eyes and stared out into the distance.

"Get what?"

"Our spark is our most sacred organ, it's a container for our soul. When two Cybertronians decide to bond they…." She struggled to find the words "they fuse their sparks and become sparkmates. "

Jack was staring to understand and found it kind of amusing to see the titan feeling embarrassed. He was sure if she was human she'd be blushing.

"In the heat of battle, that's all we have to feel… connected." she continued.

"I see." Jack paused for a moment. "Did you and Cliffjumper ever?"

"No, we didn't get the chance." The sadness in her spark returned.

"I'm sorry for asking, Cee."

"Don't be. " she reassuringly ran her thumb over the back of his hand and his heart beat faster. He kept thinking to himself that these feelings for her were wrong. He was human, she was well… technically an alien from another planet.

The sun had long set and Jack got out his phone to look at the time. "It's getting late. My mom will be worried."

"Want me to drive you home or do you want to take a groundbridge?"

"Cee, do you even have to ask?" he smirked and she smiled back at him with an impish look in her optics, and transformed into her vehicle mode. They headed inside the base and moments later they were tearing up the road on the way to Jack's home.


	9. Chapter 9

**A/N: Yay time for another chapter :)**

 **The next few chapters are AU rewrites of the events of the series with a focus on Jack and Arcee. They will follow the series until it ends then there will be a time skip and the rest of my story. Spoiler warning for those who haven't seen the series yet. This chapters starts with the events of the episode Armada (season 2 episode 10).  
**

* * *

Arcee, Bumblebee and Optimus materialised from the groundbridge near the coordinates of the last known location of Arachnid. They watched as Arachnid's swarm of insecticons took off. A small group at the back turned tail and started to fire at them. The group ducked and even before the dust had begun to clear, Arcee was in her motorcycle form and charging at Arachnid. Her spark burned with rage: this is for Tailgate, and for Jack! She thought as she sped wheels first into her final standoff with Arachnid. The spider creature was fast on her eight feet but Arcee was determined not to let her out of her sight. From behind her two insecticons shot at her, she veered side to side avoiding each shot. She was gaining on Arachnid when the fowl beast buried herself underground. Enraged Arcee jumped after her not even waiting for backup from Bumblebee or Optimus. It was a risk she was willing to take, she wouldn't rest until Arachnid's head was laying on the floor and her spark snuffed.

She moved forwards cautiously and noticed the amount of stasis pods all around her. Each housed a dormant insecticon. Weapons drawn and watching every step she scouted for Arachnid. Reflected in the shell of a stasis pod she could see the spider behind her and was able to dodge her weapon blasts at the last moment. She cried out with rage and fired back, knocking her archenemy to the ground.

"When you extinguish my spark, make it hurt. You know I would extend that courtesy to you." the spider said slyly. As much as Arcee wanted to rip out Arachnid's spark she realised she couldn't. She thought of Jack. No, she wouldn't stoop to the same level as Arachnid, she was better than that.

"I'm not like you" she spat back at her enemy.

"Very well." and with that Arachnid launched into her attack. Arcee pushed her and fought back until she got her right where she wanted; a nearby empty stasis pod. It was too late for Arachnid, the seal of the stasis pod slammed shut and she was trapped inside.

Once she was back at base Arcee set to work buffing away the last of the scratches she'd received from Arachnid, she wanted to look somewhat decent when she went to pick Jack up from his workplace.

* * *

Jack's shift ended and Arcee was nowhere in sight. He got out his phone and was about to text her when he heard the soft rumble of her engine from in the distance. There was no mistaking that sound. Sure enough she came into sight and in a few seconds she was beside him.

"You're five minutes late." Jack teased as he noticed she was shinier than usual.

"Traffic."

"In Jasper?" he raised his eyebrow.

"Hop on. You wouldn't believe the day I had today." Arcee said as her hologram Sadie dematerialised and she angled her seat towards him.

"Why don't you try me?" he replied as he placed his helmet on his head. Meanwhile unaware to them both, a camera was clicking away furiously from across the street in an abandoned building.

* * *

On the way back to base Arcee told Jack what had happened between her and Arachnid and how Bulkhead had managed to take down a Decepticon warship.

"What made you decide not to kill her?" Jack asked as they approached the base.

"You."

Jack blushed a little under his helmet.

"Why me?"

"Because I didn't want you to see me as a ruthless killing machine. After all she did to me… and Tailgate. I spent years planning my revenge on her but then when I had the chance, I couldn't do it. Maybe you made me… soft."

"Maybe, it's because you're better than that." he reassured her and stroked her side.

"Thanks, Jack." she smiled internally for she was still in her motorcycle form.

At base Miko, Fowler and Raf had gathered and Jack joined them just in time to listen to Bulkhead heroically tell his story of how he escaped the Decepticon ship and made it crash to the ground.

Something flashed on the screen and Ratchet announced that he had managed to pick up the location of the Decepticon warship. It was time for them to spring into action. Jack watched as Arcee, Bumblebee, Bulkhead and Optimus headed through the portal with the Spark Extractor, a powerful Cybertronian artefact they had uncovered on Earth. All he could do now is wait and hope that they could succeed with their mission. It would mean that team Prime would finally be able to get the upper hand.

Suddenly Agent Fowler's voice sounded on the commlink and he requested a medical evacuation. Jack's heart beat faster, he hoped Arcee was going to be okay. Since she was the lightest Ratchet bought her back through first. Jack went up to her and touched her. She seemed frozen, like something had turned her to stone. He went up to her and placed his arms around her and hugged her despite only being able to reach just under her knee.

"It's going to be okay," he assured her even if she couldn't hear him. "Ratchet is going to make you better."

Raf and Miko were equally worried about their friends and tried to see if they could get them to move but no luck. After Ratchet ran some diagnostics he concluded that they were in some form of stasis but alive. Jack felt relieved, but their worries were far from over.

They were able to make contact with the Decepticon ship and learn that it had taken over Megatron and was deciphering the Iacon database, an ancient Cybertronian database of artefacts on Earth. The ship displayed harrowing images of frozen Decepticons on board the vessel as a warning to them. They noticed that the ship had only attacked Cybertronian lifeforms thus the three human teens came up with a plan of sneaking on board the ship and getting valuable intel.

* * *

The mission was a success. They'd downloaded as much intel as they could but sadly in order to save their friends they'd inadvertently helped Megatron regain control of the warship. The Decepticons started to awaken from their stasis once the others were through the groundbridge. Jack stayed behind to retrieve the data and was rescued by Ratchet at the last moment. When he was bought back to base Jack was relieved to see Arcee was okay. Ratchet put him down and Arcee knelt down and hugged him, for a few seconds he felt he couldn't breathe and then she let him go. Then placed both hands on his shoulders, looked him in the eyes and said in the sternest voice:

"I can't believe you just snuck aboard a Decepticon ship. That is the most reckless thing you've done up till now. You could have been killed."

"Arcee… I." Jack started.

"But you did good, Jack. You did good." she gave him a proud smile and Jack felt himself go a little weak in the knees.

"Thanks to Jack, Miko and Rafael we now have four sets of coordinates from the Iacon database that the ship was decoding." Ratchet interrupted their joyful reunion and bought up a load of Cybertronian text on the screen. "It appears to be a set of artefacts of great importance. Whatever they are, they cannot be allowed to fall into Decepticon hands." He typed on the control panel and bought up the location of the Decepticon warship. "It seems the Decepticons are already at the first set of coordinates."

"That looks like…" Rafael said. "… Manhattan."

It was time for them to move fast, the Decepticons were already closing in on Manhattan. The Iacon relics had been sent to earth millennia ago before the city was even built and knowing the Decepticons they would stop at nothing to get their hands on the relic even if it meant destroying a whole city.

Since there were four coordinates the team decided to split up. Agent Fowler was still out for the count and because Raf was the only human who could work the groundbridge it was best he stayed behind. Jack and Miko were to go with Arcee and Bumblebee, Ratchet would go and find Wheeljack, Bulkhead and Optimus would search for the other artefacts. As soon as they were ready the groundbridge materialised in front of them and they set out.

* * *

Retrieving the Iacon relics had been hard on team prime. Bumblebee's team had successfully recovered the Phase Shifter from Manhatten but Optimus had lost the Apex Armor to Starscream, and Ratchet and Wheeljack had lost the Resonance Blaster to Soundwave. Of all the relics, the one Bulkhead had been sent to receive had taken its toll on him. Tox-En, a poisonous substance to Cybertronians, was not something they had wanted to let the Decepticons get their hands on. As it was too toxic to keep around the base Bulkhead decided that the best course of action was to destroy it in a nearby volcano. He'd barely made it back alive after an insecticon shot him in the back.

The metal titan was laying in stasis and it was unknown if and when he would wake up, they were one 'bot down. While he was in statis Miko had snuck out with Wheeljack and hunted down the insecticon responsible for shooting Bulkhead in the back. After she'd gotten back from her quest for revenge she refused to leave Bulkhead's side. Jack was reminded of the time he'd also been day and night by his partner's side waiting for her to wake up. One afternoon he sat next to Miko while she was sitting beside Bulkhead who was still in stasis.

"Look, Miko," Jack said reassuringly. "I know what you're going through. He's going to make it, remember he's the toughest out of all of them."

Tears ran down Miko's face and she hugged Jack.

"He's the best friend I ever had." tears turned into sobs and she buried her face into Jack's chest. He wrapped his arms around her as she cried, her whole body shook with each sob.

"It'll be okay," he said gently stroking her hair.

"Will it, Jack? Will it?" Miko looked into his eyes, her eyes were red and puffy from crying. She leaned towards Jack and inched closer, before he knew what was happening her lips were suddenly on his. At that same moment Arcee came to find Jack to take him back home and saw his lips locked against Miko's. She'd seen humans kiss on TV but hadn't really thought about what it meant though seeing them kiss made her feel somewhat agitated.

Jack gently pushed Miko away. _This is wrong, so wrong._ He thought to himself, she was like his sister and then suddenly she was kissing him.

Arcee cleared her throat and Jack spun round. _Scrap._ He thought and an intense feeling of guilt washed over him, he didn't know how long she had been there.

"Look, Miko, I've got to go." he stammered and headed towards Arcee.

She transformed into her motorcycle form and didn't say a word to him as she drove him home. They pulled up to the garage and Jack got off.

"Night, Jack." Arcee said and went to leave.

"Arcee, wait." Jack reached out his hand to touch her.

"Leave me alone, Jack, I need to go to base." she didn't know why she was feeling annoyed at Jack but she knew she didn't want to be around him and with that she disappeared into the night.

Furiously she drove in no particular direction, angry at herself for what she was feeling. Miko was her family, like an annoying little sister, yet why did she feel this way. Sure she'd felt like this towards Sierra but only because she knew that Sierra wasn't the right type of girl for Jack. Perhaps, she thought, Miko would be a better choice and she would just have to accept that Jack was human so it was only natural to assume he was interested in human girls. She headed for her favourite rocky outcrop in the desert and transformed back into her bipedal form. She'd always been strong and never needed anybody but since she had met Jack she could feel the barriers she'd put up around her spark to protect herself slowly crumble. Who knew a human could make her feel this vulnerable? It was something she didn't like to feel it made her scared.

* * *

Back at home Jack wondered why Arcee was so upset when she left. He decided to text her but didn't get a reply just as he had thought. He swiped through the pictures of Arcee on his phone and then it occurred to him. Did she perhaps like him? Was she perhaps jealous of Miko? The kiss hadn't meant anything to him, he figured Miko was just upset and it had been a heat of the moment thing. He would talk to Miko and Arcee about it in the morning.

"Morning, Jack." his mother greeted him. "You want some toast?"

Jack didn't say anything and took a slice but didn't bite into it right away.

"You okay, honey?" his mother asked feeling his forehead. "You don't seem sick."

"I'm fine, mom." he said in an annoyed tone of voice.

"You know you can talk to me about anything." she looked into his eyes reassuringly.

"I know." he nodded but still didn't feel like he wanted to talk to his mother about his girl/bot problems.

When Jack headed for the garage to see Arcee he was surprised she wasn't there. He took out his phone and called her. Arcee woke up still atop of the rocky outcrop where she had powered down the night before. Jack was calling her. Scrap. She didn't feel like talking to him right away so cancelled the call.

Scrap. Arcee wasn't picking up so he'd have to ride his bicycle to school much to his dismay. When he arrived he only saw Raf and Bumblebee. He figured Miko was still back at base with Bulkhead.

"Bumblebee, have you heard from Arcee?" He asked the yellow sports car. Bumblebee gave a bleep and a whirr and Raf translated.

"He says she didn't come back to base last night."

"I hope nothing has happened to her. If you hear from her will you let me know?" Jack asked and Bumblebee flashed his headlights in agreement.

The rest of the day Arcee was constantly on his mind, after work he decided he would ask for a groundbridge back to base to see if she was there.

* * *

On top of the rocky outcrop Arcee received a transmission from Bumblebee asking if she was okay and telling her that Jack was looking for her.

"Just tell him I'm fine and that I'll see him later." she replied. Shortly after Jack received a text message from Bumblebee to say that Arcee was back at base.

* * *

Jack arrived at base thanks to a groundbridge sent from Ratchet. Miko was resting next to stasislocked Bulkhead and Jack headed straight for Arcee's room. He found her resting on her berth and cleared his throat.

"Arcee?"

Her eyes slowly opened and she sat up.

"Jack…"

"Is everything okay?" he asked as he came over to her and clambered up on to her berth next to her. She reached down to help him up since it was rather high.

"I'm sorry I drove off like that yesterday." she blurted out. "and for not answering your calls."

Jack placed his hand on her arm and gave it a gentle pat. "It's okay, Cee. I guess everyone is on edge at the moment."

"It's not that, Jack." Arcee paused for a moment. "After I lost Cliffjumper I never thought I'd ca…"

"Hey Bulkhead's awake." Miko was outside Arcee's room and seemed in higher spirits than they'd seen her the past few days.

"Let's go say high to the big guy." Arcee said changing the subject and got off her berth then helped Jack down. "We'll talk later." She assured him.


	10. Chapter 10

**AN: Happy Holidays everyone. The beginning of this chapter ties in with the episode "Out of the Past" season 2 episode 17 and follows the events of the series. Enjoy~**

* * *

Jack had left for home and Arcee headed atop of the base to clear her mind. So much had happened in the last few days. She was surprised to find Miko there.

"What are you doing here?" Arcee asked somewhat stiffly.

"I came up here to clear my head." Miko replied without looking at Arcee. She was sat with her legs bent and her arms wrapped around them.

"I'll leave you to it." Arcee said about to leave when Miko suddenly apologised.

"For what?" Arcee asked.

"For kissing Jack." Arcee's optics opened wide. "I know you like him."

Arcee came over and sat down next to the black and pink haired girl. "Is it that obvious?"

"You have no idea." Miko replied with a secretive smile.

"Oh," said the titan as she placed one of her hands over the other and looked down.

"Don't worry I won't tell anyone, promise." Arcee gave a little smile and Miko continued. "You know he likes you too right?"

Arcee looked at the girl next to her. "How can you tell?"

"The way he talks about you and looks at you. You didn't notice?"

"No, I've been to preoccupied with other things. Besides… he's human."

"So what?"

"Even if we did, I'd likely outlive him and there's about a hundred other reasons I could think of why it wouldn't work out."

"Aw come on. You guys are like literal star-crossed lovers cos you know you're from outa space. You should totally tell him how you feel." Miko said brimming with excitement.

"It's not that simple, Miko. We're at war, one of us could die. I don't think I could face it if anything happened to him because of me."

"So you're not going to tell him?"

"For now, no. Maybe someday. I don't know." The was a pause between the two and then Arcee asked: "How are you holding up?"

Miko sighed. "I thought I'd feel better going after Hardshell but I don't…"

"I know how you feel," Arcee stared out at the horizon.

"Cliffjumper?"

Arcee nodded and began her story of how she and Cliffjumper ended up on Earth. After she was done Miko felt somewhat better, she knew she had to be strong for Bulkhead and that's exactly what she was going to do. She placed a hand on Arcee's and smiled at her as the sun set.

* * *

Jack woke up to the sound of Arcee's horn coming from the garage. He rolled over and saw the time on his alarm clock. Scrap, he'd overslept and was going to be late for school. As quick as he could he got dressed and gathered his school things then rushed to the garage. His mother had the early shift so he didn't bother to get anything for breakfast. Arcee was waiting impatiently in the garage. It was 8:55 there's no way they'd make it on time for lessons if they drove to school.

"We better take a groundbridge," suggested Arcee and moments later a green light filled the garage.

The materialised around the corner from school in an alleyway and sped towards the school entrance at maximum velocity. They arrived just as the school bell rung.

"I owe you one, Arcee." Jack said and ran his hand across her seat.

During his first class Jack got a text message from Rafael. He quickly peeked at it from under his desk.

 _Meet me in the computer lab after class. It's urgent._

As soon as class had finished he made his way to the computer lab classroom and found Miko and Rafael already there.

"Guys, we have a huge problem." he said turning the computer screen towards Jack. There on the news was a recording of him and Arcee coming through the groundbridge.

"Late by any chance, Jack?" Miko said sarcasticly.

"Scrap." he said.

"Looks like Pollyanna saw you guys this morning and has posted the images all over the net. It's going to take days for me to scrub this." Rafael typed furiously at the computer.

Just then Jack's phone rang, it was agent Fowler. "Double scrap." he said woefully answering the phone.

Not only had Pollyanna Baynes got video footage of them she's also interviewed Vince about the strange goings-on in Jasper and she'd manage to find other pictures of the bots. Already social media was rife asking what was going on, what secrets had the government been keeping from them.

Jack had just finished on the phone with agent Fowler. After about ten minutes of telling the boy off he'd calmed down enough to explain the plan. They were going to lure Pollyanna Baynes into a trap by arranging a meeting with her. Jack was to pretend to come clean about the Autobots on Earth and in the meantime agent Fowler would send a specialist team to arrest and detain her indefinitely for crimes against the United States by spreading valuable military intel on the internet. It seemed harsh but it was the only way that they could keep the presence of the 'bots under wraps.

The plan was set in motion. Jack agreed to meet Pollyanna in an abandoned shack outside of Jasper. He wiped his hands on his jeans, his palms had never been this sweaty and he was feeling extremely nervous.

"Jack, lovely to see you again. This is nice… date." Pollyanna said coyly. "So what did you want to talk to me about?"

"Well… you were right." Pollyanna's eyes widened when she heard Jack say those words. "There are robot-men on Earth. They've been here for some time and they've been doing all they can to protect Earth. They've put their lives on the line countless times and now because of you, you may have put them in danger."

"Oh dear, Jack, it's not that simple. You see the people deserve to know the truth. I know the military wants to keep them under wraps but sooner or later the truth will come out. Why not just let it out now?" Pollyanna stood with a hand on her hip, her lips pressed into a thin smile.

"Who are you to decide such things?" Jack spat back at her.

"Freedom of the press." she answered slowly. "Now is that all? I have a very important interview in Washington to attend to. News Network Nine wants to interview me."

"I'm afraid you won't be making that interview after all, Ms. Baynes." Jack stood back as a SWAT team burst through the windows on the abandoned shack.

"You tricked me!" Pollyanna cried out as a man grabbed her and cuffed her then lead her outside.

"You may have caught me but you cannot silence the press!" she screamed at Jack as she was forced into a black van outside.

Agent Fowler came over to Jack. "Good work, son."

"What going to happen to her?" he said feeling terribly guilty. She hadn't really done anything wrong but because of his stupidity it meant she'd have to be detained.

"Well, we're most likely going to detain her under the Patriot Act for posting top secret military information online which could fall into the hands of terrorists."

"I'm sorry, agent Fowler, I should have been more careful."

He placed an arm on the boy's shoulder. "Jack, nobody could have predicted Ms. Baynes would be waiting in that alleyway for you to appear."

"I almost blew the lid on everything."

"Don't beat yourself up kid. What's done is done. I'd better take you home, June is going to be worried."

In the meantime, Rafael and a team of highly trained military hackers had set to work tracking down every shred of evidence about the Autobots online. They'd managed to successfully spread the rumour that Pollyanna Baynes was nothing but a crackpot and that she'd doctored some images to try to get famous. Within a couple of days, the hubbub on the internet and news about the robot-men had died down and Pollyanna Baynes would go down in history as being a mentally unstable junkie selling doctored pictures to try get cash for drugs. Even if she was ever released nobody would believe her stories about robot-men on Earth ever again.

* * *

A week later Rafael was checking the usual conspiracy websites when he came across a Cybertronian escape pod. Not sure if it was friend or foe team Prime decided to check it out. When Rafael opened the groundbridge the kids were surprised to come face to face with a new autobot: Smokescreen. Acree obviously didn't trust him and Jack wasn't too sure either.

When he told his tale of how he had managed to get to Earth it seemed somewhat unbelievable at first. Since Optimus seemed to trust him this put everyone at ease, except Bulkhead. He was feeling somewhat left out as he was still recovering from his wounds and he made his dislike of the newcomer very clear. However, any reservations they had about Smokescreen were soon cleared as he proved himself to be a valuable member of the team and Optimus Prime gladly welcomed him to the team.

After a few run-ins with the law it had become apparent that Smokescreen had a lot to learn about the ways of humans and Optimus couldn't think of a better teacher than Jack.

"If anything happens to Jack, I'm going to make you regret it forever." Arcee warned Smokescreen as Jack got in the car.

"I'll be fine, Cee. Don't worry." he smiled as he got into Smokescreen's cockpit.

"Is she always that uptight?" Smokescreen asked as they drove out of the base.

"Not always. I think she's just worried."

"Pfff nothing to worry about. Come on, teach, I've got airbags."

When they got back they base later in the day both were in hysterics.

"Arcee, Arcee. Check out Vince's car!" Jack exclaimed showing Arcee the picture on his phone of the bully's car covered in fast food. While they had been out driving they had bumped into Vince, the bully had thrown a hamburger against Smokescreen's window and together with Jack they had managed to get their revenge without harming a human. Jack had actually enjoyed hanging out with Smokescreen today, there was no way on Earth Arcee would let him have this kind of fun.

Arcee was far from impressed by what they had done. "So you taught Smokescreen everything he never needed to know about fast food?"

As annoyed as she was with their tomfoolery at least she was glad Jack had come back in one piece.

Jack headed out with Smokescreen again, this time they stuffed pizza in the tailpipe of Jack's boss's car. They were both laughing like maniacs when they got to base much to Ratchet's disgust. He noticed Arcee and the others weren't at base. It soon became clear that the team was out on a mission to recover an Iacon relic and that Ratchet had located a second relic. Since Ratchet couldn't leave the base and Smokescreen wasn't technically allowed to go on missions alone Jack tagged along.

They found themselves at the sight of another Iacon relic, the Starsaber sword, and Megatron himself was amongst his soldiers. Despite Jack's pleas for waiting for backup Smokescreen dove straight into the middle of the Decepticon battalion leaving Jack completely defenceless.

Arcee was tracking the signal of the first Iacon relic somewhere in the Himalayas. Each time the team got closer the signal seemed to move away again. They soon realised they had stumbled into a trap. Behind them a groundbridge materialised and Ratchet came running through. He explained on the way back what had happened and the rest of team Prime headed towards the location of the second Iacon relic.

Jack cowered between some large boulders. _This is it_ , he thought, _this is how it's going to end_. Two insecticons screeched as they ripped at the boulders pulling them aside. A large metal claw came towards him and he closed his eyes when suddenly he felt a rush of wind and heard a large clang. The insecticon fell to the ground. The second insecticon looked somewhat bewildered but didn't have time to react for a blue blur landed squarely in its face knocking it out.

"Arcee."

"What could you possibly have been thinking!" she yelled at him. He'd never seen her this angry before but he didn't have time to linger. He joined the rest of the group as they watched Optimus leap at the Starsaber embedded in a large rock. Just like the legend of King Arthur the sword instantly slid out of the rock. With the power of the Starsaber they were easily able to defeat the Decepticons and cause them to retreat.

Back at base Arcee was not pleased. She gave Smokescreen a thorough telling off for putting Jack in danger. Jack tried to defend Smokescreen by saying it was his idea to tag along but instead got the full brunt of Arcee's wrath.

"We'll talk tomorrow." were her final words before she ordered Ratchet to open a groundbridge home.

"You know you're starting to sound like my, mom." Jack commented under his breath.

"Good, at least one of us cares about your safety."

Jack felt dejected, no ride home only a groundbridge. Solemnly he headed back home through the portal and found himself in his garage. He kind of felt like he'd been grounded by his best friend. The rest of the evening he caught up on homework and stayed inside. Tomorrow was weekend and he anxiously awaited the talk with Arcee if it was going to be anything like the talks his mother had with him when she was cross.


	11. Chapter 11

**As a special Holiday treat to you all I'm posting two chapters. I'm sure you'll all thinking "Wolvie sure is crazy for posting two chapters in one day" but it's because I'm out of town for New Year and then in January I have exams. The next chapter won't be posted until the end of January. Hope you have a rockin' Christmas, Hanukkah, Kwanzaa or whatever you celebrate, and an awesome New Year :D**

 **Enjoy~**

 **p.s. spoiler warning in this chapter for those who haven't seen the series.**

 **p.p.s. see you all in 2017!**

* * *

Arcee didn't show up until late in the afternoon.

"Let's go for a ride." was all she said. He could tell she was still mad at him by the way she drove. Soon Jack recognised where they were going, Arcee's usual rocky outcrop. Once atop of the rock Arcee transformed back in to her bipedal form.

"Cee, I'm sorry." Jack started.

"I thought you knew better than that, Jack. I'd expect something so reckless form Miko but from you." she pointed a finger at his chest when she spoke to him.

"I know," Jack sighed. "I guess I wanted to prove myself as part of the team just as much as Smokescreen did."

"Jack, I already lost two partners, don't make it that you're number three." she said placing a hand on top of her spark chamber and looking down. Jack went over and placed his hand on her shin.

"I promise I won't be number three or four or ever." he reassured her and she knelt down so she was level with him and placed her hands on his shoulders. He smiled and looked into her optics. "Besides you've always got my back."

"True, but don't go putting yourself in danger either." she said then stood up and transformed back into her motorcycle form. "How about we go run a few laps around Jasper? It's been a while since we went out for a long drive together."

"As long as it's with you, Cee."

"Climb aboard, Smooth Operator." and with that the pair sped off along the highway basking in the late spring afternoon sunshine as it glistened and reflected off of Arcee.

* * *

Finals were around the corner so the kids were spending less time at base but they'd noticed that the bots had been acting strange lately. They seemed to be leaving them more and more out of the loop. It had been days since Jack had last seen or heard from Arcee and she wasn't bothering to answer his texts. He figured she was out on missions but he grew increasingly worried.

Back at base Arcee sat in her room. She was going to miss Earth once she had managed to return to Cybertron. She looked over at the picture of team Prime in her room and realised that most of all it was Jack she was going to miss. Maybe it was time she told him what she was up to, that they had found a way to restore her former home planet and that she would hopefully return home soon.

In the main hub of the base the bots and humans were gathered as Optimus broke the news of the Omega Keys, the last four Iacon relics needed to restore their former home planet. The bad news was that Starscreen had been able to infiltrate the base and swipe all four keys from under their noses, so to speak.

"Why didn't you tell us about the Omega Keys before?" Jack asked. He was feeling hurt that Arcee hadn't bothered to tell him until now. Had she been planning on leaving without telling him.

"You probably didn't notice but things have been intense around here lately." Arcee replied.

"Finals," Jack shrugged.

Excited chatter erupted amongst the 'bots and humans as Miko made plans for moving in with Bulkhead and the others when Ratchet butted in to remind them that they no longer possessed the keys. Already Jack's gut feeling told him that the humans would not be welcome on New Cybertron even if they did succeed in restoring it. Suddenly an urgent message came through the comlink from the Decepticon Dreadwing. It was decided that the Autobots would go and check it out as soon as possible. Jack followed Arcee as she was preparing to get ready to leave for the mission.

"Is it true Arcee?" he said as they walked down the long corridor back to the hub.

"What, Jack?" she looked down as the small human beside her.

"That once Cybertron is restored you're just going to leave. What about us humans? What about… me?" he yelled.

"Jack…" she sighed and knelt beside him. "I've been fighting so long for this, Cybertron is my home. It's where I belong. I guess I've become accustomed to Earth but there's nothing more I want than to return to my true home."

"So that's it. You don't need me anymore." he crossed his arms in a sulk.

"Let's not think about that right now. We still haven't got the Omega Keys in our possession." she assured him. In the meantime, they had entered the hub. "I have to go. I'll see you later."

She transformed back into her vehicular mode and gathered before the space bridge with the others.

By the time Arcee and the others returned from their rendezvous with Dreadwing Jack and the others had gone home. They didn't understand why but Dreadwing had given them the forge of Solus Prime, a powerful hammer which had the power to create anything the holder desired, but they were grateful. With this technology they were able to upgrade the groundbridge so it could bridge them across space all the way to Cybertron. They had also learned that Starscream had indeed used the Omega Keys to win favour with Megatron. Now more than ever did they need to reach their former home world before Megatron did in order to stop him for every key needs a lock and the Omega Lock was on Cybertron.

Arcee thought of letting Jack know she was heading to Cybertron but after their somewhat uncomfortable conversation earlier that day she didn't feel like talking to him. She'd been so focused on getting back home that she hadn't considered Jack at all. He meant a lot to her and she knew she would miss him but he was after all human. There's no way he'd be able to survive on Cybertron, the atmosphere contained so little oxygen that he would perish as soon as he set foot on the planet. What she felt for Jack no longer mattered, they were going to rebuild their home.

Optimus Prime set to work with the Forge of Solus Prime making adjustments to the groundbridge and even reforging his weapon, the Starsaber, which had been broken by Megatron. It was time for them to head out on their final mission. Arcee was anxious and excited at the same time. Finally, she'd be able to go home after all the years of fighting and being stuck on Earth. She entered the newly upgraded groundbridge and before her the desolated ruins of Cybertron appeared.

* * *

Back on Earth Jack, Miko and Rafael had finished school they'd been waiting for over an hour.

"Where are the 'bots?" Raf asked looked around.

"I dunno. We better contact Ratchet." Jack said grabbing his phone. Ratchet answered but the cranky old bot seemed even more annoyed and short tempered than usual. They learnt the Autobots were out on a mission and that they would have to find their own transport home. Then he hung up.

"They seem to be keeping us in the dark a lot lately." Jack exclaimed and looked at the time on his phone. "My mum doesn't finish work until 6 pm. So I guess we'll have to take the bus."

"Aww man…" Miko moaned. "That is so not cool."

"Hey do you guys hear that?" Raf said as the sound of engines approached.

"Is it them?" Miko asked looked around to see where the sound was coming from.

"No," said Jack. "It doesn't sound like Arcee. I'd recognise the hum of her engine anywhere."

From around the corner three purple cars suddenly raced towards them and transformed into Decepticons.

"Scrap." the humans cried as they tried to avoid the Decepticons. Jack noticed that they weren't firing at them but instead trying to grab at them.

"Raf," he said hiding behind a garbage container with the younger teen. "They're not shooting. Do you think they want us alive?"

"I dunno, Jack, maybe it has something to do with the Autobots."

Jack took out his cell phone about to call Ratchet when there was a sonic blast which rendered him and the others unconscious. When they awoke they found themselves in giant glass cylinder shaped capsules on board the Decepticon warship.

"What do you want with us?" Jack shouted as he banged his fists against the glass walls of his enclosure.

"You'll see very soon human." Starscreem said lifting his container up level with his face. "You'll see very soon." he said with an evil grin.

* * *

Arcee and the others had located the Omega Lock and successfully retrieved the Omega Keys. They stood around the Omega Lock and watched in awe as all around them it sprang to life. Four pillars rose from the ground and above them a large ring filled with blue swirling water. They were so close now all they had to do was place the keys into the lock when suddenly they were confronted by Megatron.

"Autobots, I would suggest that you put a halt to your task and hand over those keys." the warlord said with the utmost confidence.

"And why would we do that?" Smokescreen asked. At that moment behind Megatron a green portal opened up to reveal Starscream, Knockout and Soundwave. Each was holding a human captive in a glass cylinder.

"So that I may hand over the humans." Megatron pointed at his captives.

Arcee and the others felt their sparks sink. They were so close to restoring their home and because of Megatron capturing the humans they were about to lose it all. Megatron threatened to open the pods containing the kids if they keys weren't handed over and all eyes and optics were suddenly on Optimus Prime awaiting what to do next.

Arcee cared about Jack. She didn't want to watch him die, she couldn't let him die but they were so close to restoring Cybertron. She cursed internally, feeling completely helpless then Starscream lifted up Jack's containment pod.

"Jaack, it's time to come out and play." he said with his spidery fingers inching towards the lock atop of the capsule. _Scrap,_ thought Arcee _, if Optimus doesn't say something soon I've got no choice but to shoot Starscream to save Jack_. Instead of opening the lock on the pod Starscreem ran his nails down the side of the glass creating a horrid screeching sound.

Jack looked at the Autobots and at Cybertron. This was their home and it meant a lot to Arcee, it no longer mattered what happened to him. Arcee had saved him countless times and if dying meant he could ensure that her planet would be restored then he would do it for her.

"Go ahead. The Autobots were prepared to sacrifice themselves for my planet. I'll do the same for theirs." Jack said staring Starscream in the face.

"Me too," Miko chimed in. Their small insignificant lives seemed nothing compared to the restoration of Cybertron.

But Optimus had made his choice. No matter how much they wanted to restore their planet he was unwilling to sacrifice the humans. Optimus lay his weapon down and the others followed. One after the other they exchanged the Omega Keys for the humans. Megatron had concluded that Jack was worth two keys so Arcee took Jack from Starscream once Smokescreen had handed over his Omega Key. She smiled with relief as she took the pod containing her human companion but then she noticed the sadness in Jack's eyes. They both new by saving his life, and that of Rafael and Miko, that they had sacrificed all hope of returning Cybertron to its former glory.

They were surrounded by 'cons and watched as Megatron started up the Omega Lock and used it to rebuild a spire. Then they watched in horror as Megatron ordered a spacebridge to be opened up right above the Omega Lock and pointed towards Earth. It had been his plan all along. He didn't want one planet but both planets. A beam of energy shot through the portal and slammed into the planet Earth near Jasper, Nevada.

While Megatron contemplated on what to call his new planet Optimus seized the moment to free himself of the Decepticons surrounding them and grabbed the Starsaber. Moments later he plunged it right into the heart of the Omega Lock causing a huge explosion. Arcee and the others shielded the humans from the blast and when they opened their optics all they saw as a twisted burning husk of what had once been their only means of restoring their planet. Ratchet sent them a space bridge back home and the last view they saw of their home world was the burning ruins of the Omega Lock.

When they got back to base and told Ratchet of the news of the destruction he didn't take it well. An argument insured and the humans were blamed. They'd saved Earth but lost Cybertron. Everything they had fought for was now lost. Arcee tried to explain that Megatron changed the rules when he put the humans lives in danger but Ratchet wasn't having any of it. No sooner had they returned to base when they received an angry phone call from agent Fowler. It appeared that Megatron had successfully created a dark spire using the Omega Lock and it was right opposite their base.

The Autobots and agent Fowler gathered on top of the base and observed the newly built fortress opposite them, the first step in cyberforming Earth. The Decepticons had discovered the location of their base and were now on their way to destroy it. There was only one thing they could do to survive: split up and go into hiding. As the Decepticon armada approached they headed inside the base and agent Fowler took on the Decepticon flyers in his helicopter trying to buy them enough time to flee.

Optimus filled Ratchet in on the situation and explained his plan. In the meantime, Wheeljack, Bulkhead's old wrecker friend, flew in and helped defend the base until everyone had groundbridged away.

The Decepticon warship was on top of the base its weapons locked. At that moment June Darby was racing towards the base in her car. She hadn't heard from Jack all day and after the sudden evacuation of Jasper she had grown increasingly worried. As she approached she could see the giant warship and the smaller Decepticon troupes buzzing around like flies. Some Decepticons shot at her and she lost control over the wheel and skidded to a halt. A Decepticon approached on her location she beeped the horn furiously and agent Fowler noticed it. He shot the Decepticon and quickly landed his helicopter near her car then helped her into the helicopter. They took to the sky just as the warship launched its weapon. In an instant the base was wiped from the face of the planet.

"No…" June cried out and buried her face into agent Fowler's arms. If Jack was in there, he was surely gone. Fowler let out a solemn breath and placed his arm around his partner.

"I'm sorry, June…" he said kissing her forehead. "I just hope they somehow made it out in time." The wreckage of the base burned in front of them and agent Fowler turned the helicopter around and headed back to the nearest military base.


	12. Chapter 12

**Hello dear readers, thank you all for hanging on :) I'm currently suffering from flu (thanks H3N2 virus -_- ) but anyways this is one of my favourite chapters so far. I hope you all enjoy. It's my take on what happened to Jack and Arcee after the base got destroyed.**

 **Enjoy~**

* * *

The groundbridge closed behind them and Jack and Arcee found themselves in the middle of a field. Arcee looked around for a moment.

"Where are we?" Jack asked.

"I'm not sure," she replied from beneath him.

"Arcee," he said slowly getting off of her. "I'm sorry we lost Cybertron… it was my fault. If I hadn't have let myself get captured, then… you might still have had a home to go to."

The female 'bot transformed and glared at him. "You're right. It is your fault." she said looming over him intimidatingly. "I'm never going home and the only home I had here on Earth is gone too. If Cliffjumper and I hadn't have followed Optimus' distress signal to Earth then he'd still be alive. None of this would have happened. We wouldn't have had to sacrifice our home for yours!"

"Cee, I know there isn't anything I can do to make you feel better." Jack began but she ignored his comment and continued with her rant.

"I don't see why I just dump you at the nearest city and go and re-join the others on my own. I wish I'd never met you!"

"Look, Arcee. I've lost my home too you know! Jasper is gone and my mother doesn't even know I'm alive and I've got no way of telling her I'm with you because I'm not allowed to use my stupid cell phone. And… and if I could I would have gladly sacrificed myself for your home too!" he yelled back at her.

"At least you still have your planet. I keep thinking what if Optimus had let you die… a few humans for the fate of our planet. What could it matter?"

There was a pause between the two then Arcee sighed slowly and said: "… none of us would have been able to live with ourselves knowing that we'd let you die for our cause. A cause you never should have been part of in the first place."

She walked away from Jack to the edge of the field and sat down with her knees bent and her arms wrapped around her legs.

"Cee," Jack said coming over to her and placed a hand on her back. Arcee reached out and pulled Jack towards her into a hug.

"We'll get through this, we always do," he said as he wrapped his arms around her neck. His heart beat faster and both their anger and upset subsided.

After a few moments Arcee loosened her grip on the small human.

"We should go and take a look around," Jack suggested and Arcee merely nodded before transforming into her vehicular mode.

"Jack… if I could be stuck in the middle of nowhere with no hope of finding the others… I'm glad it's with you."

"Me too, Cee, me too." he smiled as they drove off.

They managed to find a highway and soon found a sign which told them they were somewhere in Iowa.

"So what's the plan?" Jack asked.

"We keep heading south-west then west towards Jasper Nevada. Hopefully we'll meet up with the others."

* * *

Nightfall was upon them, they'd been driving all day and Jack was starting to nod off. They had come to a mountainous region of Iowa and Arcee went off road to scout for a place to rest for the night. She soon found an abandoned mine shaft at the foot of a mountain near a river.

"Time to sleep, Smooth Operator," Arcee let Jack get off and transformed back into her humanoid form. There wasn't much light, only the faint glow of Arcee's optics in the pitch black darkness. If they had had more time to prepare Jack would have bought a pocketknife and some supplies. He was tired, cold and hungry. It wasn't exactly comfortable sleeping on the floor either, which was cold too. He tossed and turned for what seemed like hours and just couldn't get to sleep. Arcee had noticed this and moved over to him.

"Jack, climb up onto me. You'll be more comfortable." she offered and laid on her side.

"What's a matter?" she asked as saw his hesitation.

"Well last time I slept on top of you, you were in vehicle mode."

"I need to save my energon, Jack, this form is less of a drain on my resources. We don't know when I'll have the next chance to refuel."

Luckily she couldn't see him blushing in the dim light of her eyes as he slowly climbed up onto her. He nestled himself on her waist just above her hip where her body wasn't as ridged. She wrapped her arm around him to keep him warm and he slowly drifted off to the sounds of her spark pulsating.

The following morning dim light spilled into the mine and Jack slowly roused from his sleep. Arcee had rolled onto her back in the night and he was now resting on her stomach. He blushed and slid off of her rather quickly than intended which caused him to stumble. Behind him he heard Arcee rise and stretch out.

"Morning, Smooth Operator," she said as she made her way to the entrance of the abandoned mine. The view was breath-taking they were overlooking a large river and were completely surrounded by mountains. It was so different than anything she'd seen in Jasper with its dry desert and rocks. Jack followed behind her and yawned then took a look at his surroundings.

"It's pretty nice here," he remarked. Arcee didn't say much but just nodded. Jack's stomach gave a rumble.

"Are you okay, Jack?" Arcee asked the human male beside her.

"Just hungry,"

"I don't suppose there's a fast food joint nearby?"

"Out here?" Jack said looking around. "I doubt it."

Then he noticed ripples in the water near the riverbank and went closer to investigate.

"No fast food joint but there is food nearby and it's fast." he said watching the fish swimming near the water's edge. "Come on, Cee, help me catch some breakfast."

Jack went off into the forest and found a long thin branch, with the help of Arcee he managed to whittle it down into a rudimentary spear. Slowly he got into the water trying not to scare the fish away and positioned himself downstream.

"Alright, Cee, go ahead."

Arcee fired a shot into the middle of the river causing the fish to panic and swim in all directions then towards Jack. With all his might Jack stabbed at the water trying to impale one. He missed so they tried again. After several attempts at this they had managed to catch three reasonable sized fish.

Together they gathered some firewood and Arcee lit it with a small blast from her weapon. Soon the air filled with the smell of roasting fish. Jack had hung his clothes up to dry in a nearby tree and was just sitting in his underwear near the fire enjoying his self-caught breakfast. Luckily for them it was summer in Iowa so it was pretty warm and Jack's clothes dried quickly. With his belly full and his clothes dry they continued on their journey.

* * *

They'd managed to find a diner on route and Jack stopped to get some food. He'd also managed to pick up a map of where they were. Arcee had to get some petrol, it wasn't as energy rich as energon but with her supply dwindling she had to rely on it to keep herself going. It tasted foul and she had to force herself to drink it despite it making her want to spew it out all over the place. Human fuel, so inefficient and vile tasting.

By the fifth day of driving towards Jasper Jack had almost run out of money. Arcee noticed he wasn't eating enough and that his strength was starting to wane. It was raining hard and she felt his grip loosen on her.

"Still with me, Smooth Operator?" she asked as he leaned forwards.

"Pull over," he said. Quickly he got off of Arcee and took off his helmet then clutched his stomach and retched. All he could bring up was a bit of bile and stomach acid where he hadn't eaten for a while.

"Jack, are you okay?" she went to transform back into her bipedal form but decided against it when an old truck drove past. Jack got back on top of her shivering because he was feeling so cold and exhausted. Instead of driving back in the road Arcee drove through a wheat field.

"Where are we going?" Jack asked.

"I have an idea."

Soon enough they came to a barn. Arcee knew that where there were fields then there were farmers to tend to the fields. Perhaps she could try to steal some food for Jack so he wouldn't starve to death. She lent sideways so Jack could slide off of her and onto the soft hay bales then she transformed and helped him get comfortable.

"I'll be back as quick as I can," she gently stroked his cheek.

Back in her motorbike form she followed the road until it lead to a farmhouse. She didn't see any humans around and slowly turned into her bipedal form. The house was left unguarded except for a black and white dog which cowered at the sight of her as she entered the small house. She found a refrigerator and took as much food as she could carry then sneaked back out.

"Here," she said handing Jack a chocolate bar once she was back at the barn.

"Where did you get it from?" he asked as he took it.

"It doesn't matter, just eat."

The chocolate felt good and after he was done he opened up a can of soda and drank it with great gulps. He still felt a little weak and Arcee lay down beside him in the hay and wrapped her arm around him.

* * *

Jack awoke with a start to find the end of a shotgun barrel pointed at his face.

"Don't move." said an old gruff voice. Arcee woke up and was charging her weapon out of instinct.

"Stand down, Arcee." Jack said.

"What are you doing in my barn?" the old farmer glared at them with his shotgun pointed at both of them.

"We needed a place to shelter from the rain, sir." Jack said slowly raising his arms above his head.

"What is that thing?" the farmer said pointing his gun at Arcee.

"She's my friend."

"Oh, Frank, can't you see the boy is ill." a woman's voice came from behind him. A stout old woman with grey curly hair came from behind her husband and pushed his gun to face downwards.

"Don't mind him, he's always like that towards strangers." She reached out and took Jack's hand to help him up. "Your hand sure feels cold and your clothes are wet. We better get you inside to dry you off."

"What about that robot thing?" Frank said.

"If the boy says she's a friend of his then she's a friend of ours too."

"But Bonnie…" Frank trailed off and spat at the ground. He placed his gun over his shoulder and followed his wife and Jack. Arcee had no idea what happened but followed them outside and watched them help Jack into a truck.

"Do you have a name, boy?" Frank asked.

"It's Jack, I'm Jack." he shivered shaking Frank's hand. Bonnie got a blanket out the back of the truck to place over him.

Arcee transformed and followed the truck all the way up to the house she had broken into earlier. She felt somewhat guilty as she was sure these were nice people and they likely would have helped Jack anyway. Too bad she couldn't have just gone up to them and asked.

"That's quite a robot you got there kid." Frank exclaimed as he watched in awe as Arcee switched forms.

When they pulled up at the house and Arcee transformed back she heard the dog whimper and scurry back into the house.

"Oh don't mind old Duke, his bark is worse than his bite." Bonnie assured them as she led Jack inside their home. She handed him a warm drink of hot chocolate and let him borrow an old plaid shirt and a pair of jeans from her husband so his wet clothes could dry. Arcee watched them through the window as they tended to Jack. While he was resting Bonnie came outside to see Arcee.

"Your friend is going to be just fine. You two can rest here for a few days until he gets his strength back." she smiled kindly at the large 'bot.

"I'm sorry for taking your food." Arcee said.

"It's okay. We thought it was some good for nothing hobo sneaking around. Boy you gave us quite a fright." she remarked and circled around Arcee to get a better look at her. "What brings you both out here?"

"We're just trying to get home." Arcee said.

"I see. Are you two military? Cos you know my husband Frank fought in Vietnam."

"I'm afraid I can't say much. The less you know about us the less danger you will be in." Arcee stared out at the open fields.

"Well dear, is there anything I can get you?"

"You wouldn't happen to have any gasoline, would you?"

Frank sat in the armchair opposite Jack polishing his shotgun. He felt uneasy around the two strangers but his wife didn't seem to mind them. When Jack woke up he felt much better.

"Where's Arcee?" he asked Frank since he couldn't see Arcee outside.

"She's with my wife outside." There was a brief silence and Frank asked the question that had been on his mind since the moment he'd laid eyes on Arcee. "What is that thing?"

"She's an autonomous robotic organism from the planet Cybertron."

"You what now, boy?" Frank laughed. "You must be pulling my leg. She's an alien?"

"I guess so." Jack shrugged.

"Right and you just happen to be friends with this 'alien' woman?"

"Pretty much."

"So where are you headed? To her spaceship to meet with the other aliens?"

"Actually we're headed to our base that was destroyed trying to look for the others like her."

"You mean to say there's more of them out there?" Frank looked Jack straight in the eyes making Jack feel somewhat uncomfortable then he spoke again. "I've heard many stories, seen unbelievable things during my time serving in the military but this this is the most absurd story I've ever heard of. Yet… I believe you."

"You do?"

Frank nodded. "I know a liar when I see one and you ain't one." He took a swig from a whiskey bottle which he then placed back inside he shirt pocket. "You've got a mild case of pneumonia. You need to rest here for a few days, if you don't it could get worse." he said warmly.

"Thanks, sir. You said you served in the military what was your post?"

"I was a medic during the Vietnam war."

During their stay with Bonnie and Frank they were most hospitable. Just as Frank had said Jack felt better within a few days.

* * *

Arcee was outside leaning against the house giving Duke a scratch behind the ears. The mutt had gotten over his fear of her pretty quickly and was happily wagging his tail.

"I see you made a new friend there, Cee." Jack commented.

"I quite like this creature. Not as much as you though." she smiled and Jack sat beside her.

"You know I was thinking, since you don't have a home to go back to on Cybertron would you perhaps like to stay with mom and I once you've defeated Megatron?"

"Jack, I don't know what the future holds. I don't want to make any promises I can't keep." she said with a sigh.

"Will you perhaps consider it?"

"Maybe," she said placed her hand on top of his. "If your mom can provide me with a bigger garage."

"I don't think that would be a problem." he said with a smile.

The following morning Arcee and Jack decided to head out. Bonnie and Frank had given Jack a few days' supply of food and pointed them in the right direction towards Nevada. Jack and Arcee thanked them for all their help.

"You take care of her, boy." Frank said placing a hand on Jack's shoulder.

Next to them Bonnie handed Arcee a blanket. "Make sure he uses this or he'll get sick again. Your boyfriend is lucky we found you two when we did."

"Er… we're not…" Arcee went to correct her.

"I've been married for 50 years and if that ain't love then I don't know what is." she smiled as she petted Arcee's hand.

"Um… okay." Arcee said feeling somewhat embarrassed.

"Come on, Jack, let's roll." she transformed into her motorbike form and Jack hopped on. He turned to Frank and saluted to which the old man saluted back. They sped off into the horizon towards Jasper Nevada.


	13. Chapter 13

A/N: Hello dear readers, thanks to all of you who have followed, faved and reviewed this story. It's really motivating to get such feedback. Anyhow I passed all my exams (yay~) and am currently on my teaching internship. If I pass my internship I can start working as a teacher from September. At the moment it's more paperwork than teaching.

I'm trying to keep up with the story updates every two weeks. After my exams I had some time to write a chapter or two ahead.

This follows along the plot of the episodes Scattered and Prey (season 3 episodes 2 and 3).

P.s. Happy Valentine's day everyone.

* * *

It had been nearly ten days since the base had been destroyed. Jack had still been unable to contact his mother due to their radio silence. They were heading west through Nebraska and Jack was starting to worry about his mother and the others. He wondered if Miko and Rafael had made it back yet or where they even were. He wished he could let his mother know he was still alive for she must be worried sick about him.

"What if Jasper wasn't evacuated in time?" Jack asked as they pulled up near an old warehouse. "What if she was hurt or taken by the 'cons?" he said as he got off of Arcee.

"Jack," she said.

"…and even if she did get out…" he continued. "She's gotta be worried out of her mind not knowing where I am." Behind him Arcee transformed.

"Jack." Arcee said firmly. "Calm down. We'll get back to Jasper, find a way to reach your mother…" she got up and looked to the sky. "and the rest of the team."

A helicopter flew overhead which got Arcee on edge. From their current distance they couldn't tell if it was civilian or Decepticon.

"Stay here," she commanded Jack as she transformed back in to her vehicular mode and activated Sadie.

Jack sighed as he was left behind and watched her head out. He was worried sick about his mother. He took out his phone and saw that the battery was running low.

"One text couldn't hurt, could it?" he said to himself as he began typing a message to his mother.

* * *

June Darby was trying to keep herself occupied by tending to the soldiers hurt in the battle against the Decepticons. She was currently living at a military base with agent Fowler until she was able to go back home. Just as she was getting ready to head out to work her phone sounded, it was Jack.

 _With Arcee. Safe. Love you._

She hugged the phone tightly. For almost two weeks she hadn't heard anything form her son. For all she knew he was dead since she'd witnessed the base explode before her eyes. Now she had a text saying he was alive and with Arcee.

"Bill, it's Jack," she ran into his office "he's alive." she ran into his open arms and they embraced. Both of them felt rejoice that her son was still alive. He kissed June and wiped away a tear from the corner of her eye.

"Your son is one tough cookie." he remarked as they stood there holding each other in his office.

* * *

No sooner had Jack received confirmation that his message had been delivered when he suddenly heard the roaring of jet engines from behind him. Scrap. The 'cons had locked onto his position.

Arcee had managed to catch up with the helicopter and confirmed it was civilian and sighed with relief. She stood down for a moment then heard explosions from behind her.

"Jack!" she sprang into action and headed back where she had left her human friend.

"I am so toast." Jack said before climbing over a metal fence. It was a good thing the Decepticons had such a bad aim or he would have been dead long ago. He was almost over the fence when they fired at him again, the force from the blast knocked him to the ground and he scrambled to his feet. More shots were fired at him as he headed towards the nearest building, a lorry supply depo. He scrambled under the lorry parked there as more shots rained down on his. The blast knocked the lorry out of the way, dust and smoke blew up around him as the lorry came crashing down. Now he was completely exposed and a sitting duck for the Decepticons who fired their weapons at him. Suddenly Arcee rolled into view before he even had time to react she transformed mid-air, grabbed him and pulled him close to her stomach to protect him. Then she put him down beside her and fired her weapons at the Decepticons. Jack's heart was racing as the Decepticons grew nearer. Arcee scouted around trying to come up with a plan.

"Over there," Arcee gestured towards a nearby petrol station. She transformed and Jack climbed on board.

"Not the best cover," Jack remarked as she transformed back and crouched down behind the fuel pumps.

"We're not here to hide," she said narrowing her optics and raising up her weapon. She explained her plan to Jack and they waited for the Decepticons to land nearby. As they came towards them Jack was waiting with two fuel fueling nozzles in his hands.

"Hey guys, unleaded or deasel!" he yelled at the deceptions and threw the nozzles to the ground. A pool of petrol had gathered in front of the Decepticons. They looked somewhat confused by Jack's actions and hesitated what to do next. As soon as Jack took off in the opposite direction they readied their weapons. At that moment Arcee, who was hiding behind a parked car, sprang out and fired at the pool of petrol on the floor causing a massive explosion. Instinctively Arcee pulled Jack towards her and used her body to protect him from the heat of the blast.

Jack gave a sigh of relief when they saw the Decepticons were no more.

"Let's roll before they send reinforcements." Arcee said and transformed back into her vehicle mode.

"You don't have to ask me twice." he hopped on board.

"How did they find us?" Arcee asked as they drove.

"I may have sent a text message to mom to let her know we were okay." Jack said sheepishly.

Arcee skidded to a halt. "You did what?!" She yelled.

"Arcee I…"

"Look Jack I know you're worried about your mother but you're not going to be any use to her dead."

"I just keep screwing things up, don't I?" He let out a breath and his shoulders sank.

Arcee couldn't stay cross with him for long. She started to drive again. "At least she knows you're alive which is more than we can say about the others. I just hope the 'cons didn't get to them first."

They'd been driving for nearly a whole day when Arcee asked Jack if he was hungry for there was a town up ahead.

"Er… I better not. I'm running low on cash." he replied.

"Least you don't have to buy gasoline." she started to swerve to the right near a corn field. "I'm pulling over anyway, need to stretch my legs."

They pulled up beside a barn and Arcee transformed into her bipedal form.

"Oh yeah," she said stretching out her servos.

Jack walked over to a nearby fence. The sun was setting and a lovely shade of orange.

"Arcee," he said looking out over the vast landscape. "Team Prime is scattered to the winds. For all we know – you and I could be the only ones left."

The titan came over to him and placed a hand reassuringly on his shoulder.

"I don't believe that, Jack, and I know you don't either." she assured him with a smile.

"Maybe not." he turned to her. "but the Decepticons outnumber us 100-to-1. Aren't there any more Autobots out there who could help?"

Arcee closed her optics and thought back to Cliffjumper then spoke. "The War for Cybertron took a heavy toll. But there were others who escaped on the Ark."

"So where are they?"

She took a handful of dust in her hand. "Scattered to the winds." she said letting the wind sweep the dust from her hand. "So let's focus on getting back to Jasper. On getting Team Prime back together."

"You're right, Cee." he said walking over to her and sitting down. They sat side by side and watched the sunset as they had one done together back at Jasper. It seemed like it was forever ago that they had watched the sun set. Jack leaned his head against her thigh and she rested her hand on his shoulder. Underneath her hand she could feel the rise and fall of his chest.

"We should search for a place for you to sleep tonight." she suggested.

"Okay, let's roll."

The following morning, they set out early and continued their journey westwards.

"The last time things looked this bleak," said Jack. "Optimus slipped me that Keycard, something we could hand our hopes on." He was of course referring to the Matrix of Leadership which he had taken to Cybertron to help restore Optimus.

"I know you're feeling helpless, Jack. But this doesn't need to be your burden. We're in this together." Arcee assured him, his morale was at an all-time low. It had been two weeks since he'd seen or heard from the others.

Suddenly they heard the roar of an engine from above them and a huge spaceship flew overhead. It was a deep blue, the main body of the ship was covered in various weapons and either side of it were two engines with blue flames coming out of them. Arcee skidded to a halt preparing herself to fight in case it was a Decepticon ship. She couldn't tell who it belonged to all that she knew is that it was Cybertronian. Jack sensed her unease and got off of her so she could transform.

"Stay behind me!" she said protectively as the ship landed and a hatch started to open. Her weapons locked and loaded she aimed at the stranger who was descending from a platform. Arcee narrowed her optics trying to get a better focus on the Cybertronian approaching them.

"Jack, I don't think we're gonna need that Keycard." she remarked standing down. Jack looked up and smiled. It meant whoever was nearing them was friendly. A blue and red Autobot, who resembled Optimus Prime, came into view. "Meet Ultra Magnus."

The human was in awe at the sight of Ultra Magnus. He almost had the same impressive aura of respect as Optimus did. Arcee excitedly started to talk to Ultra Magnus, she asked where he'd been all the time and how he's managed to find Earth but was quickly snubbed by Ultra Magnus.

"Soldier, we may not be on Cybertron, but military protocol remains." he said sternly. Being on Earth for so long she had forgotten that there was indeed a certain hierarchy amongst Autobots. Optimus hadn't really been one for formalities and up until now every bot had referred to each other as equals. She was slightly taken aback but then remembered what Ultra Magnus was like and apologised quickly. Beside her Jack asked who Ultra Magnus was although it didn't go down to well as Ultra Magnus more or less asked Jack to keep his mouth shut and referred to him as "the native life-form'. Arcee quickly explained that Ultra Magnus was Optimus' key lieutenant during the War on Cybertron and that he was very 'by the book'. She advised him to just go with it.

Ultra Magnus explained how he had travelled through space, just like the rest of his kind, after the exodus of Cybertron. He had detected a massive energy burst originating from Cybertron and followed its trail to Earth. That's when he realised that the planet had been invaded by Decepticons but he'd also detected Autobot life signals and that Arcee's had been the closest to them. He used his ship, the Iron Will, to find them.

"Signals, as in plural?" Jack interrupted and was met with a scowl from Ultra Magnus. It meant that the others were alive. "Sir," he added quickly and Ultra Magnus preceded to answer his question. In total he'd managed to pick up five out of seven autobot life signals. Jack looked crushed, not everyone had made it out alive.

"Jack," Arcee said, "That doesn't necessarily mean what you're thinking. Autobot signals can't be detected when they're shielded."

"I hope you're right, Cee." Jack replied. At least Arcee was trying to be optimistic and the fact that Ultra Magnus was here, was a small glimmer of hope, perhaps a sign that they could still turn the tables and beat the Decepticons once and for all. They headed aboard the Iron Will and let Ultra Magnus lead them to the others.

Arcee sat beside Ultra Magnus watching the computer monitor as they approached the coordinates of Bulkhead and Wheeljack. She felt relieved that she was aboard Ultra Magnus' ship. Jack was resting against her with his eyes closed, he was still weak from his bout of pneumonia and she figured a little rest would do him some good. She gave a genuine smile, feeling happy for the first time in a long time. Perhaps if they managed to defeat the Decepticons she could make Earth her home at last.

"Soldier," Ultra Magnus spoke to Arcee. "May I ask what your relationship is with this native lifeform?"

"He's my partner, sir. Optimus assigned me to watch over him and protect him from the Decepticons."

"I see," he paused. "We're approaching the coordinates now. It seems they aren't alone."

"Jack," Arcee gently brushed a lock of Jack's hair out of his face. "We're almost near Bulkhead, Wheeljack and Miko." She was hoping Miko was still alive and with them.

On screen they could see a giant dragon shaped creature, it was some kind of Decepticon beast, they fired at it and lowered the Iron Will down so that they could lower the platform for the other autobots to hop on. As soon as Bulkhead, Wheeljack and Miko were aboard they pulled up and Ultra Magnus focused on trying to outmanoeuvre the beast who was hot on their tailpipes.

It was a happy renunion. Miko hugged Jack, then gave him a playful punch and Bulkhead grabbed Arcee and squeezed her into a tight hug. She was caught a little off guard but was happy to see Bulkhead and Wheeljack too then introduced them to the commander. Although Wheeljack didn't seem very happy to see Ultra Magnus, it soon became apparent that the two had history.

"Brace yourselves," Commander Ultra Magnus shouted and Bulkhead grabbed hold of Jack and Miko as the spaceship swerved to avoid what Miko dubbed a 'robot dragon'. The commander managed to fly the ship so it was directly behind the dragon and fired his weapons to little effect. Suddenly it disappeared in the clouds, moments later the whole ship shook as it took a hit to one of its engines. Then the was a roar and a clanging sound as the beast landed on top of the spacecraft. Jack and Miko screamed with fright and Ultra Magnus steered the ship into a nose dive then made it spin on its own axis to shake the creature off. The Iron Will hit a few rocks, Miko gagged and even Jack had a hard time holding the contents of his stomach, then they spun upside down forcing the creature into some rocks and were finally free of the beast.

"Where to next, sir?" asked Bulkhead once they were flying in a straight line towards the next coordinates.

"I've found two more signals near and old Decepticon warship. I suggest we proceed with caution, soldier."

* * *

At last they were at the coordinates and the humans and autobots got onto the platform. The spaceship landed softly and they descended.

"Raf!" cried Miko and ran towards him. She picked him up and hugged him close then kissed him on the lips to Raf's surprise. Jack went over and shook his hand then pulled him into a hug. It felt good to see his friend again and for the whole team to be together.

"You're alive," Ratchet said looking around at the other autobots and the humans. He'd almost given up hope of ever seeing the others again and now there they were in front of him. He couldn't believe his optics and was even more surprised to see Ultra Magnus once the others had stepped off the platform.

They group burst out into a happy chatter, none of them had thought they would see each other again. Ratchet was explaining to Ultra Magnus how, with Rafael's help, he'd managed to hack into the fallen warship, the Harbringer. They'd even managed to get the groundbridge up and running. As they were talking Miko made a comment about the robo-dragon chasing them and Jack elbowed her to shut her up.

Ultra Magnus and Ratchet looked down at the three humans in surprise.

"The indigenous population of this planet," asked the commander, "do they all display the same disregard for authority?"

"No," Ratchet said respectfully to Ultra Magnus "Mostly just Miko."

They were interrupted by the sound of a jet engine which caused Ultra Magnus to leap into action and ready his weapons. Arcee and Bulkhead jumped in front of Ultra Magnus and Wheeljack and Bumblebee yelled not to shoot.

"It's Fowler, he's with us." Bulkhead assured. Jack ran towards the jet with Rafael and Miko in persuit. If Fowler was there, perhaps-

"Mom!" he exclaimed as Fowler helped his mother out of the aircraft. She ran towards him, tears in her eyes and hugged him. She held his face between her hands almost not believing that it was her son in front of her.

"It's okay, mom. I'm fine." Jack assured her. Then his mother gave Rafael and Miko a hug too. She had never been so relieved in her life and told them that their families were safe. She also explained that Agent Fowler had managed to get Jasper evacuated in time.

Fowler got out of the aircraft and came over as Arcee explained that Ultra Magnus had managed to find everyone except Optimus and Smokescreen.

"I watched the base go down." said Fowler. "No one or thing walked out of there."

"Not that we could see." his mother walked up to Fowler and took his hand in hers.

Fowler continued to express his concern of the fate of Optimus Prime but also pointed out that with the planet being held hostage by Megatron they didn't really have the time to wait for Optimus to show even if he did somehow survive. The best course of action was to act now and Ultra Magnus agreed with him. With or without Optimus Prime their main goal was to stop Megatron.


	14. Chapter 14

**A/N this chapter has shipping between June and Fowler. I also kind of rewrote the episode "plus one" since I had already shipped them before I saw this episode. Since I wanted it to tie in with my story I figured it would be nice to rewrite it like I have below. I just hope you readers enjoy it as much as I enjoyed writing it.**

* * *

On board the Harbinger Ultra Magnus prepared a plan. The Autobots were vastly outnumbered against the Decepticon forces and the human military were helpless as long as Megatron had the fusion cannons of his newly built fortress pointed at the capital cities of the world. It was decided that they would infiltrate Darkmount, which had been built next to the old Autobot base, and disable the fusion cannons so that the human forces could help attack and take down Megatron's forces. In order to sneak in they would have to try to thin the Decepticon forces and it just so happened that the human teenagers would play a crucial role.

"Are you sure about this?" Arcee asked Jack once Fowler and Ultra Magnus had explained the plan.

"The fate of my planet depends on this working. I'm sure I can handle it." he smiled at her and she smiled back. "Arcee… in case you don't make it back. There's something I want you to know." Jack took a deep breath. "I might not have another chance to tell you this-"

"Jack," she interrupted. "I'm coming back." then knelt down took his hand in hers. "Promise."

"Alright…"

Arcee placed her finger under his chin and tilted his head upwards so that her optics met with his eyes.

"Promise me you'll make it back too."

* * *

Jack was in position at an abandoned petrol station and took out his phone. He sent a message to Miko to let her know he was in position. It also served as the bait that they needed to lure the Decepticons.

Back on the Harbinger Raf and Ratchet were monitoring the screen and could see the Decepticons send out a team of attackers. Ratchet activated the groundbridge and leapt through. It was up to Miko now. She called a pizza delivery company in New York in the hopes that the Decepticons would pick up her cell phone signal too then hopped through the groundbridge.

The next part of the plan was easy. Jack pretended to send out a distress signal to lure the Decepticons to a false location. As soon as they detected the Decepticons leaving the Autobots sprang into action and headed through the groundbridge. Now all the humans could do was wait as the Autobots stormed the Darkmount.

Jack, Miko and Rafael were intently watching the monitor in front of Ratchet. They'd lost track of how long it had been since the team left and as long as the Autobot signals remained strong they still had their hopes up.

"How is that possible?" Ratchet suddenly exclaimed as a light flashed across the screen.

"What?" Said Jack turning to the old 'bot behind him.

"An autobot signal," he tapped the command console. "but it's airborne."

Then they received a transmission they couldn't dream of expecting.

"All units," sounded commander Ultra Magnus' voice "Optimus Prime has returned."

The four of them were stumped.

"Yes!" Jack jumped in the air.

"Awesome!" Miko yelled.

"Thank the Allspark." cried Ratchet.

"Sweet." said Rafael. Hope finally returned in their hearts and sparks.

The news of Optimus' return was repeated over the commlink and the team of Autobots sprang into action fighting through the Decepticon battalion. Above them Optimus fought valiantly against Megatron and in the distance agent Fowler's forces were entering the battlefield. With the cannons successfully disabled the jets were able to launch their nuclear warheads straight into Darkmount. The autobots got to a safe distance and watched as Megatron's fortress crumbled to the ground.

Ratchet sent them a groundbridge and they headed through. Optimus Prime and Smokescreen, who had finally caught up with the others, joined them at the new base at a military training facility. Miko hugged Bulkhead, and Jack ran up to Arcee who simply winked at him and smiled. Both had kept their side of their promise. Rafael bumped fists with Bumblebee. With the team united it seemed like an Autobot victory was in sight.

From up on the scaffold inside the base agent Fowler officially thanked team Prime for their selfless heroism. Jacks mother just smiled and placed an arm around her son, she'd never felt prouder. With that Optimus Prime officially welcomed Ultra Magnus to the team. Despite their victory over Megatron they no longer had the means of rebuilding the Omega Lock. Optimus Prime had used the last of the power of the Forge of Solus Prime to rebuild and upgrade himself so that he could fly. Smokescreen regretted the decision for he knew how much it meant to the others to return home but Ratchet assured him that his spark had been in the right place. Without Optimus they would not have had this victory and most likely perished. The return of their leader had given them the hope they needed that one day there would be peace and it no longer mattered as much if it was peace on Earth or Cybertron. Arcee knelt to the ground.

"What's the matter, Cee?" Jack asked noticing her sorrow.

"I just really hoped we'd be going home." she sighed. "Looks like we're stuck here now that the Forge of Solus Prime is broken."

Jack didn't say anything, he just went over to her and embraced her. She placed her hand on his back and looked down at the human whose arms were tightly wrapped around her waist. Perhaps it wasn't all that bad, she thought. At least she had Jack and didn't have to worry about saying goodbye to him. Could she possibly make Earth her home with Jack?

"Do you think you'd have the space for me in your garage?" she asked him.

"Always," he replied and looked over to his mother who simply smiled. Jack's heart skipped a beat, did this mean that Arcee would be living with him all the time?

When Jack let Arcee go she transformed into her motorcycle form. "Let's got for a ride." and with that, and permission from Optimus and Fowler to leave the base, they headed out for a drive around the base.

* * *

It had been a week since they crippled Megatron's spire and tensions were rising. The addition of Wheeljack and Ultra Magnus had changed the group dynamic, especially since Wheeljack and Ultra Magnus didn't get on very well. At one point Wheeljack had thrown the lob-ball, which had been recovered from the ruins former Autobot base, at Bulkhead but missed and had nearly crushed Miko. He'd managed to create a huge dent in agent Fowler's door and was swiftly reprimanded by both Ratchet and Ultra Magnus. A discussion between Wheeljack and Ultra Magnus followed causing Wheeljack to storm off.

Optimus returned from his mission scouting for energon with some grave news, he had uncovered the ancient remains of a Predacon. The Decepticons at the mine he was exploring were excavating it and Ratchet came to the conclusion that, along with the dragon-like Predacon, Decepticons were trying to clone an army of Predacons. Though they didn't know why Predacons were on Earth when they had been extinct on Cybertron long before the other Cybertronians had emerged.

Ratchet pulled up information on the Predacons from the Decepticon database that he had taken from the Harbinger. Jack and the others immediately recognised some of them from Greek mythology and Medieval literature. It became apparent that Predacons had once been on Earth thousands of years ago as they seemed to have been the basis for most of the beasts of humankind's folklore. More evidence that Cybertron and Earth were linked since the dawn of time.

While Jack and the others were sleeping agent Fowler had detected Decepticons in two different locations. Optimus decided to split up the team and send them out to investigate.

"Morning, Smooth Operator," Arcee gently poked Jack awake from the armchair at the base he was resting in.

"Where are the others?" he asked sleepily.

"Out hunting for bones."

Jack stretched and yawned then woke Raf up. The two got washed and dressed then headed for the mess hall on base for breakfast. Not wanting to miss any of the action they ate quickly and headed to hanger E to wait for news from the others.

Rafael was busy on the computer when it suddenly bleeped.

"Incoming groundbridge request from Scotland." he announced. Arcee and Jack turned to where the portal suddenly materialised and were surprised to see Wheeljack.

"Wheeljack, what happened? Where are the others?" Arcee asked him concerned.

"Having a swell time taking the long way home in Ultra Magnus' boat, I'm sure," they could tell he was in a foul mood. "Miko included."

"I wondered where she was this morning." Rafael remarked.

Before they had time to discuss the mission agent Fowler interrupted with more news of Decepticon signals, this time coming from New Mexico. Since Optimus and Ultra Magnus weren't back yet the chain of command fell upon Arcee.

"You, roll with me." she told Wheeljack.

"Not today, all right?" he answered back grumpy as ever.

"If you're all right sending me out there alone." she said brushing past him.

"Alone's how I prefer to roll." he remarked. From behind him Ratchet persuaded him to go along for the work Ratchet was doing was too important for him to leave the base. With a disgruntled "Fine," Wheeljack went along.

"Arcee, do you need me to come along too?" Jack asked.

"We'll be fine, won't we Wheeljack?" she crossed her arms for a moment and shifted her weight onto on leg so that her hip stuck out somewhat.

"Whatever," he replied as the groundbridge materialised. "but just so you know…" he trailed off as the headed through the portal. Jack watched them leave, feeling a little unsure about Wheeljack. He was known to be a loose cannon and he wasn't sure he was the best choice for Arcee to pair up with then again who was he to decide who Arcee selected to go on missions with.

June had finished her shift at the nearby medical hospital of the base and was heading towards agent Fowler's office. She wasn't in a particularly good mood today. Jack was keeping himself busy playing a video game and Rafael was helping Ratchet by keeping an eye on any incoming groundbridge requests and doing research on Predacons.

"Nice shooting, Tex," Jack's mother said as she came over.

"Hey, mom, what's up?"

"June, what brings you here?" Fowler asked coming over. He was pleased to see her as always. She informed him that she was here about the medical supplies and from where Jack was sitting he could see the pair flirting, and he gave a little sigh. Why did they have to flirt so obviously in his presence, they seemed especially flirty today. He was about to get up and leave them to it when Rafael informed them that he'd managed to locate a Predacon talon in a museum. The three of them went over to him as he explained how it had been hidden away in the museum since 1922. Unfortunately, all bots except their medic were out on missions.

Ratchet groaned, he really didn't want to be away from his research into synthetic energon, not now he was so close to perfecting the formula. With their energon supply running low it was of the utmost importance that he try to get the formula stable and working but with the rudimentary tools he was stuck with progress was slow. He needn't of worried about leaving the base as Fowler immediately volunteered to retrieve the item.

"Maybe you should all just wait for Optimus." Jack's mother suggested. Instead of waiting though Fowler decided to try to impress June by telling her how he'd been an Army Ranger and federal agent and that he was more that equipped to handle a 'milk run'. He even invited her along.

"Absolutely not." Jack said to his mother. "Mom, I don't want you anywhere near anything 'Con. It's not-"

"Safe?" she placed her hands on her hips. "Is my teenage son seriously going to tell me that it's fine for him to travel all the way to Cybertron but his mother can't be trust to go on a... on... "

"A milk run." Fowler whispered in her ear.

"A milk run?" she scoffed.

"No, I- it's just… You're lactose intolerant, and I-" Jack stopped, it was no use convincing his mother. She's obviously made up her mind.

"Come on, Bill." she turned head and agent Fowler followed her. In his pocket he fumbled with a small blue trinket box.

* * *

The trip to the museum went without a hitch and agent Fowler was carrying the box containing the Predacon claw back to his car. Next to him June held his arm and complimented him on how he'd handled the situation. He smiled at her.

"June, I'd say that puts you one step ahead of my ex."

"I'm glad to hear that."

"What about you. You still haven't told me what's the story with Mr. Darby?"

"Well it's more like a saga, but one I'm sure you've heard before." her ex had been in and out of her life many times. Drunk and abusive she'd finally had enough of him and kicked him out as she only wanted what was best for Jack. She gave Fowler's arm a slight squeeze as a red sports car approached. The headlights were turned up really high and she used her free arm to shield her eyes from the light.

"I have a bone to pick with both of you." said a voice and a weapon appeared from the side of the car.

"Run!" yelled Fowler and tried to shield June from the blast. When they awoke they found themselves tied up and in the back of the car. From in the back they heard Knockout contact Megatron to let him know that he had secured the Predacon talon and two of the Autobot's pets.

* * *

Back at base Jack was pacing back and forth while Rafael was playing a video game.

"It's really taking them a while."

"Arcee and Wheeljack?" Rafael asked looking up from his game.

It was true that Jack was worried about them but not as much as his mother and Agent Fowler.

"My mom and agent Fowler," he replied somewhat short tempered. "Maybe they stopped for dinner," he sighed. It wouldn't be the first time they had gone on a date but usually not during a mission.

"Isn't that what grown-ups do when they're dating?" the younger teen asked. Only Jack was aware.

"Yeah, I guess you're right."

Jack's phone suddenly rang and he picked it up.

"Mom?"

"Guess again, Jack Rabbit." It was Miko on the phone. She was telling him that she'd bought back something way cooler than soda.

"I can't talk, Miko. I need to leave this line free."

Miko begged to for him not to hang up and asked if Wheeljack had returned to base. He told her Wheeljack was fine and that he was out on a mission with Arcee. She made a joke about the two lone wolves hooking up. Jack felt a pang of jealously and hung up with annoyance. He hoped Miko wasn't right but then again, he thought, if Arcee wanted to be with Wheeljack then who was he to stop her. What was he thinking anyway, it's not like she'd ever feel for him what he felt for her. He sat down with a sigh.

"Is everything okay, Jack?" Rafael asked.

"Miko and the others are on their way back."

Rafael nodded with acknowledgement.

* * *

In the back of Knockout's trunk June and agent Fowler were quarrelling.

"I told you we should have waited for Optimus." she said.

"There it is, the 'I told you so'," he retorted.

Their tiff was interrupted by Knockout.

"Hello? How long have you two been dating? Because you bicker like an old married couple."

"What?" said Fowler.

"We're not married." June snapped at the cheeky Decepticon.

"Fankly, I find it repulsive, the whole idea of you fleshies interfacing." Knockout made a disgusting gagging sound.

"Actually, June." Fowler said softly. "There's something I've been meaning to ask you for a while."

"I don't think now's the right time," she said trying to turn around to face him. "Let's concentrate on getting out of here first. Then you can ask me whatever you want, Bill."

"Sure thing," he said finally managing to shift around and face her. In the back of the car they whispered coming up with a plan to stop Knockout from getting back to the Decepticon warship. Agent Fowler had lost his weapon but luckily June had pepper spray with her. They weren't sure if it would work on a 'bot though they didn't have much choice except to try.

June kissed Fowler. "Good luck," she said as they put their plan in motion. Agent Fowler kicked at the back seat and managed to force his way through into the passenger seat then to the front of the car catching Knockout off guard. He grabbed the wheel and forced the Decepticon to pull over. June had managed to climb through too and take hold of the Predacon talon.

"Now!" yelled Fowler as both exited the vehicle and ran in opposite directions. Behind them they heard the shifting of metal as Knock out transformed into his bipedal form. He reached for Fowler who was the closest and Fowler sprayed a blast of pepper spray into Knockout's optics. He was surprised that it actually worked on the metal titan and he was able to wriggled free from Knockout's grasp.

They found themselves at an abandoned train depot. Fowler and June had split up and were making clanging noises to try and mislead Knockout as he chased the pair. They ran amongst the empty railway wagons.

"June, June, where are you?" Fowler called out. He didn't realise how close Knockout was until the 'bot was right on top of him and he was able to scoop the human male up with ease. Knockout called out to June telling her if she didn't give herself up he would kill her boyfriend. From between the railway wagons June was coming up with a plan of her own. If only she could find a way to distract the 'Con long enough to free agent Fowler. Then she had an idea.

* * *

Jack was trying agent Fowler's cell phone and just like his mother's it went straight to voicemail.

"Maybe they went to a movie?" Rafael suggested. "They've only been gone two hours."

"They would have let us know. Something is wrong, I can sense it." said Jack. "Look, Raf, can you get me a groundbridge to their last known coordinates? I just want to be sure."

"If you insist." said Rafael tapping the keys on his computer and within seconds the green portal of the groundbridge materialised.

When he got to the parking of the museum he found his mother's cell phone crushed and on the floor.

"I knew it." he said to himself and grabbed his phone. Hopefully Arcee was nearly done with her mission.

"Arcee, I need your help." he picking up the broken phone and observing the skid marks on the ground. "My mom and Fowler may be in serious trouble."

* * *

June managed to work one of the trains loose and it started to slowly move out of the depot. The train moved out of her way and she came face to face with Knockout.

"Okay, first. Put down my boyfriend and second, you're not laying a metal digit on him." she threw the box containing the Predacon talon to the ground and it shattered. "Not if you ever want to see your precious talon again."

Knockout reached forwards and grabbed June. "Where is it?" he yelled.

"Leave her alone." cried Fowler. They were like small dolls in his hands.

"I hid it on a train car." she spat back at the 'Con. "Let us go, and I'll tell you which one."

Knockout growled at her and looked around. He noticed the moving train.

"Try as you might, you can't con a 'Con." he said before transforming into a car and forcing them into his seat belts. Now they had no chance of escape as he pursued the train.

Behind Knockout Wheeljack and Arcee were gaining on him. Thanks to Rafael and Jack they had managed to track down the location of agent Fowler using his cell phone signal. Arcee raced ahead and behind her an enemy groundbridge materialised. A horde of insecticons came flying through. She narrowly avoided their shots. Wheeljack transformed and took down at least two of them. Arcee transformed and fired her weapons at the Insecticons taking down another two then switching back into her vehicular mode and continued to speed towards Knockout. Suddenly a stray shot hit her and she swerved to steady herself then transformed back and rolled to a halt.

"Get Fowler and June!" she commanded Wheeljack. She knew Jack would never forgive her if something happened to his mother and she would never forgive herself if something happened to one of her best friends. Arcee dealt with the final insecticon and rushed to catch up with Wheeljack. Knockout was gaining on the Predacon talon, which June had hidden in the back of a coal wagon. Nearly at his goal he transformed and threw the pair out but luckily Wheeljack was right behind them and caught them. The streamlined motorcycle sped ahead gaining on Knockout, she almost had him when a groundbridge materialised and he disappeared through it. She transformed back and yelled with frustration. They were so close to stopping the Decepticons from getting the talon.

"Scrap." she cursed then turned her attention to Wheeljack who pulled up behind her. "Where are they?" she looked through his windows trying to see where June and Fowler were.

"In back." Wheeljack said popping his hood. Fowler and June sighed with relief.

"June, do you think I could ask you that question right now?" he said getting out of Wheeljack's trunk and helping June out. Arcee looked puzzled what were the humans up to. Fowler got down on one knee and pulled a small box from his pocket and opened it up.

"June Darby, would you make me the happiest man on Earth by accepting this ring?"

"What's going on?" Wheeljack asked Arcee as he transformed.

"I dunno but I've seen this in films I've watched with Jack. It's some kind of Earth pre-bonding ritual between humans." she whispered intently watching them.

"Bill, seriously at a time like this?" June raised her eyebrow.

"Well things turned out a little differently this evening than I had expected."

"You can say that again."

"If it's a bad time… I can always ask anoth-" before he could finish his sentence she kissed him. "So I guess that's a yes?" he said when they broke apart. She nodded and he took the ring from its box and placed it on her ring finger then they kissed some more.

"Do they always do that much… whatever is it they do with their mouth parts?" Wheeljack asked.

Arcee nodded. "It's called a kiss. Humans kiss for various reasons, the most common being to show affection for someone they really like."

"Strange creatures." he commented.

The groundbridge materialised and Fowler and June walked through holding hands.

"Mom," said Jack feeling relived and running over and hugging her. "Are you all right?"

"The milk run turned a little sour, but Bill and I are more than just fine." she showed him the ring on her finger.

"Engaged?"

"Come on, June, sit down." said Fowler leading her away.

"You're engaged!" he couldn't quite get his head around it. They'd gone from getting a Predacon talon to getting engaged and they didn't even think to ask him how he felt.

"Looks like you've been jacked, Jack." Miko said coming over and pointing at Wheeljack and Arcee. "By another 'Jack."

He turned and saw Arcee with her hand on Wheeljack's arm. Should've known, he thought, it's been the worst day today. First mom and Fowler get engaged and now Arcee who seemed rather flirty with Wheeljack. He watched Wheeljack walk past and head toward Bulkhead. They shook hands and smiled at each other then hugged.

"Bro-mance trumps romance." he sighed as Miko leaned on his shoulder.

"Glad to be your bro, bro." said Miko then left to find Rafael. Lately the two had been hanging out more than usual.

"So, do you think they'd let me be a bridesmaid?" Arcee asked Jack teasingly referring to his mother and agent Fowler. He rolled his eyes with annoyance, his boss was going to become his step-father. That's all he needed.


	15. Chapter 15

**A/N Here's the next chapter. The story is still following the series and ties in with the last few episodes up until the episode Synthesis (SE3E12). The chapter after this one will follow the final episode of the series and then continue on.** **Enjoy~**

* * *

Jack was enjoying some down time at the base. Jasper still wasn't safe to go back to and the 'bots were out most of the time scouting for energon and Predacon bones. Decepticon activity was at an all-time low. Since it was summer and school was out Rafael managed to keep himself busy helping Ratchet, who had also been teaching him about Cybertron. Miko was visiting her parents in Japan, groundbridge travel was quick and easy. Jack had gotten friendly with a few of the mechanics on base. Private Johnson had been showing him the basics of car repair.

"You ride the motorcycle, right?" He asked Jack one particularly hot afternoon whilst he was fixing a jeep.

"Yeah," he replied.

"She's quite an amazing machine - pass me the wrench -"

"We'll I don't really see Arcee as a machine, she is after all a sentient being from the planet Cybertron. She just looks like a machine but deep down all of the Autobots are very similar to us." He explained while handing the wrench. "They can feel pain, get hurt and they protect those they care about."

"So you and her, you guys have a thing? I mean you're always riding her around the base,"

"What?" Jack asked turning red. "It's not like that, we're partners - as in friends."

"Screwdriver," Private Johnson said and Jack fumbled through the toolbox looking for a screwdriver. "Well it's pretty clear you have the hots for her." Joked the older man causing Jack to blush. " it's written all over your face." he smiled as he took the screwdriver from Jack. "And if I may say so, she looks a pretty fine ride too."

"Enough already," scowled Jack turning redder in the face.

"Don't worry kid. Your secret is safe with me."

* * *

"Happy birthday, Jack." his mother said as she placed the homemade cake down on the table in front of him. "Make a wish."

Rafael, Miko, agent Fowler and the 'bots were gathered around. Finally, Jack was eighteen. Even though he was a little too old to be making wishes he closed his eyes and made a wish anyway. He wished that somehow he and Arcee could be together.

"What is the meaning of this ritual?" Ultra Magnus asked Ratchet for he seemed to be the one most knowledgeable about human culture.

"It is to celebrate the day which Jack was birthed, given the spark of life in our terms." explained the medic.

"I see," said the commander. "What a peculiar thing to celebrate."

"So what did you wish for Jackie boy?" asked Miko.

"Nice try, Miko, but you're not getting a word out of me." he smiled and the feisty girl crossed her arms.

"June, I have to say you're cooking is delightful." said Fowler taking a bite and giving her a kiss on the cheek.

"Here, Jack," Rafael handed him a gift. It was a Dummies' guide to motorcycle repair. Jack thanked him and then opened Miko's gift, an anime film about giant robots. His mother had gotten him a leather jacket for when he went out riding with Arcee and his future step-father had bought him a box set of star-spangled boxer shorts. Miko found this hilarious of course and Jack muttered a thank you to agent Fowler. The 'bots who weren't really aware of Earth customs hadn't brought Jack any presents but he didn't mind. It was just nice to have everyone in one place for once.

While everyone was talking Jack went over to Arcee. "Hey, Cee, I was wondering. Do you have any plans for this evening?"

"You know I don't, Jack, not unless some Decepticons show up." she looked down at him. "Why?"

"Well, I was wondering if you would like to go and watch a movie together."

"We can watch a movie here, Jack, why would I go anywhere else?"

"I meant just the two of us. You see at the base Private Johnson told me there's a drive in theatre near here. I didn't know if you wanted to go with me."

"Are you asking me on a – what do you humans call it – date?" she raised an eyebrow questioningly. She wondered if Jack perhaps liked her, he'd never asked her something like that before.

"No," Jack blushed and his heart beat faster. "I'm asking you as a friend."

Just as Arcee was about to answer when a Ratchet's scanner bleeped.

"Optimus, our scanners have detected exposed energon." he said. With the autobots reserves at a critical low, Optimus decided that they could not afford not to investigate.

Scrap, thought both Jack and Arcee.

"Another time perhaps, Jack," she said and prepared to leave on her mission.

* * *

Jack waited at base, as usual. Rafael was sitting on the sofa playing a video game with Miko resting her head on his lap. The green glow of the groundbridge filled the base and Arcee and Bumblebee came through carrying raw energon.

"Jackpot," she said and Bumblebee gave a whistle.

"Where are the others?" asked Miko.

"They'll be here soon," replied Arcee, "they were checking out the caves."

All of a sudden Ratchet received an urgent groundbridge request and Optimus few through with Wheeljack and Ultra Magnus in his arms. The commander was hardly moving and they notice his hand was crippled. Moments later Bulkhead and Smokescreen came through the portal. They had managed to find Shockwave's secret laboratory and destroy it as well as battling valiantly against the Predaking.

"Ultra Magnus," exclaimed Smokescreen and Ratchet rushed over setting to work on repairing his broken hand.

"Will he be okay?" Rafael asked coming over.

"I will do my best," said Ratchet.

Ratchet did the best he could despite the limitations on equipment and spare parts he managed to make a rudimentary hand for Ultra Magnus. It was functional but probably not much use in battle. Jack was starting to realise how dangerous the battle with the Decepticons was getting, it could easily have been him or Arcee on that table. Smokescreen commented on Ultra Magnus' claw becoming his signature move much like Bumblebee's voicebox but this didn't go down to well with the black and yellow 'bot. He beeped angrily and stormed off. On the bright side they had managed to stop the Predacon army.

"Prime!" agent Fowler's voice rang through the base. It seemed that the Decepticons had been busy last night and stolen 20 tons of control rods from a nuclear power plant. Optimus wondered what they were up to and what they were building. Later on that day there was another call from Fowler, they'd managed to catch the 'Cons red-handed. The team got ready to head out again to try to stop them.

Moments later Optimus commanded Ratchet to keep the humans at a safe distance for they would be bringing back a Decepticon prisoner. When they returned home they were carrying Soundwave.

"Woah," exclaimed Jack as they strapped their prisoner to Ratchet's operating table.

Hours of interrogation went past, Soundwave still hadn't told them anything and Optimus started to threaten him with less pleasant forms of questioning when the Decepticon crashed his own drives and powered down. Now they had no way of getting any intel out of him.

Agent Fowler was returning to base when he received a call to say that the Decepticons were attacking the Solaris collider at the South Pole. He relayed the information on to the Autobots and they prepared to intercept.

"Careful, Cee," said Jack as she transformed.

"Always," she said and revved her engine then disappeared through the groundbridge. Jack wanted to stay up but it was late and his mother was insisting he go to bed. Reluctantly he did as he was told and headed to their temporary accommodation inside the military barracks.

* * *

Jack was woken by the sound of a huge explosion rippling through the base. He leapt out of bed.

"Arcee!" he rushed to the door of the barracks to see one of the aircraft hangers in flames. His heart skipped a beat and he was in full panic mode. Still in his night clothes he rushed towards the men scrambling to put out the flames then noticed that the hanger next to it said hanger H. Wait, he thought, isn't that where the mess hall was? He rushed around to where hanger D was and saw the letter F next to it. He felt relief wash over him and at the same time he couldn't quite believe how they'd so easily managed to deceive the Decepticons.

"Jack?" said Arcee as she peered from around the corner.

"I thought you were…"

She knelt down and rested her hand against his cheek. "Not that easily."

"What happened anyway?" Jack asked.

"Soundwave… and he took Ratchet too," she said. Somehow he'd managed to locate their base using Laserbeak, his mini-con scout. She explained that before he'd been taken he'd managed to figure out that the Decepticons were trying to rebuild the Omega Lock, if they succeeded then they would surely use it to take over Cybertron and all who opposed them. Arcee's spark gave a strange lurch, for the second time in her lifetime they were so close to restoring their home and they'd have to destroy it to save Earth, to save all other Autobots. She felt it wasn't fair, after everything she just wanted to be able to go home. Then she looked at Jack, a sadness filled her spark, it meant leaving him behind.

Rafael was busy typing away on the computer. Smokescreen had managed to shoot a piece of Laserbeak's wing. The piece of organic metal vibrated as if trying to get back to its other half.

"It's trying to communicate with the warship." said the youngest teen.

"How do you know?" Miko leaned closer to Rafael and Jack wasn't sure if it was to get a better view of the screen or because she liked him.

"It's telling us," he showed her.

"Uh, Raf," said Jack hesitantly. "that's Cybertronian code."

"Wait," Miko interrupted. "first Raf understand Bumblebee, now he read Cybertronian? Are we sure he's not some kind of alien?"

He explained that he'd been learning for a while now from Ratchet when he'd had time to teach him. The boy paused as he was missing his mentor. Jack placed his hands on Raf's shoulders to comfort him.

"Hey, Raf, we'll bring him back."

"If it's the last thing we do." Miko hugged him and placed a kiss on his head. Fowler had an idea, he asked if it was possible to track the rest of Laserbeak using the piece of metal on the table. Together with Wheeljack and Rafael they came up with the idea of attaching wings to the metal scrap and following to where it would lead them to. It was their best chance of finding Ratchet.

While Wheeljack and Rafael were working on their Frankenstein-like project Jack came over to agent Fowler and asked him if everything was all right. They talked about the close calls they'd been having lately and that he hoped one day Cybertronian technology could help future field agents.

"Agents like, maybe you someday." said Fowler.

"What?" said Jack caught completely off guard.

"Well now that you're eighteen perhaps you might consider it as an option for your future. You're prime material, son." he placed his hand on Jack's shoulder. "Your mom thought you might be a good fit, seeing as you've been wishy-washy about future plans."

"Wait, you've been talking to my mom? About me?"

"Well considering I am going to be your step-father, June and I often talk about you."

He'd finally gotten used to the idea of his mother and his boss dating and now he'd have to get used to the idea that agent Fowler was going to be his step-dad. It was somewhat surreal.

They were interrupted by the sound of machinery whirring and the little aircraft doohicky Rafael and Wheeljack had been working on flew at them. With a few calibrations they were almost ready to launch, what Rafael had dubbed, 'Chip'.

"We're ready," said Raf, "Is Optimus ready too?" the plan was in motion. Chip was launched and Optimus followed. The plan was for him to follow Chip all the way back to the Decepticon ship and once aboard. For now, all the rest of the team could do is wait for the signal from Optimus.

Agent Fowler checked in Optimus from time to time. So far it was good news. Jack paced back and forth until Arcee came over and placed her hand on his shoulder.

"It's going to be okay," she smiled but deep down she was feeling nervous too. If they failed not one but two worlds would be lost to Megatron, and not to mention their friend Ratchet.

"What happens when the 'Cons ID Laserbeak's signal?" Jack asked. Raf turned to him.

"We're counting on Optimus making visual contact with the warship before its radar can detect Chip."

"The boss'll be fine." Wheeljack said assertively.

"It's not Optimus I'm worried about." said Arcee gently squeezing Jack's shoulder. He placed his hand on top of hers.

"Scrap," said Rafael. "We've lost the signal."

Across the commlink they heard Optimus confirm the transponder had been destroyed. Now they were no closer to finding Ratchet then when they started.

"No," said Jack and the others lowering their heads. All hope was lost. Miko hugged Rafael and gave a little sniffle. Their planet was doomed. Jack turned to Arcee and held her hand in his.

"Arcee, I-"

But before he could finish he was cut off, for the umpteenth time.

"Autobot base, do you read? This is Ratchet. Can anyone hear me?" they couldn't believe their ears and audio sensors. Somehow Ratchet had managed to send a transmission. He was alive and on board the Decepticon base.

Optimus replied "Loud and clear, old friend."

At the base the humans and 'bots cheered, their sparks and hearts reignited with hope once again. Miko gave Rafael a kiss and Jack high-fived with Arcee.

"Megatron has managed to rebuild the Omega Lock onboard his warship." Ratchet continued. "I've deactivated the Decepticon shielding system. You should be able to get a fix on my coordinates."

Rafael typed on the keyboard. "Got it," he said.

"Optimus, you must hurry. Megatron is preparing to cyberform Earth as we speak." then the line went dead.

Optimus gave the command for the autobots to lock onto the coordinates of the Decepticon ship and prepare the storm the warship.

"Jack," Arcee said, her face now level with his. "Don't do anything stupid while I'm gone."

"I can't promise you that I won't try to help if things get messy."

"and Jack." she hesitated, her spark was pulsating like it never had before. "forget it - you already know."

"Arcee?" he said confused as she walked away. She grabbed her weapon and got into position to move out.

"They can't leave without saying goodbye." whimpered Miko.

"No time for that," agent Fowler said

On the comlink they all heard Optimus' voice.

"Members of Team Prime," his loud and authoritative voice rang through the speakers, "Autobot and human, it has been my honour to lead you. On this day, the fates of two worlds hang in the balance and the battle to come may very well be our last. But for Earth, for Cybertron, for our comrade Ratchet, we must take the Decepticon warship."

Then it clicked in Jack's mind. She. Liked. Him. He turned to say something but all he could see was a glint in her optics before she faded into the green light of the groundbridge. His heart thumped in his chest and then his heart sank. She only told him this because… she hadn't meant to come back. This was her last mission. Save the Earth or die trying.


	16. Chapter 16

**A/N**

 **Hello dear readers,**

 **I waited until after April fools before uploading this chapter as this is quite an emotional chapter. This episode follows the last episode of the series so is a huge spoiler as to how Megatron is defeated.**

 **This is not the end of the story, this is just the end of the series but the story continues. Also prepare for feels.**

 **SPOILER WARNING!**

* * *

Earth's fate hung in the balance. The Autobots had just left to commandeer the Decepticon warship to stop them from cyberforming Earth. At the military base, Jack and the others could only wait and hope that somehow everything would be all right.

Above the Earth on the Decepticon warship the Autobot members of team Prime were under heavy fire. Arcee, teamed up with Bumblebee and Smokescreen and headed towards the Omega Lock. Ratchet had already informed them where to find it.

"Optimus," Arcee communicated with Optimus on a different frequency so the others couldn't hear. "if we fail to secure the Lock before it's ready to deploy, do we destroy it?"

"I do not intend to squander a second chance to restore Cybertron." he replied. Her mind was made up, if they could restore Cybertron then that is where she belonged. It didn't matter how she felt about Jack. Cybertron was her home.

Ultra Magnus reported to the others over the comm that he was going to be delayed getting to his rendezvous point as Soundwave had relocated them using a groundbridge. They were now a few floors below where they had intended to be. Then Jack had an idea, he was determined to save Earth and his friends.

"Raf, can you get me into the warship's bridge?"

"Sure, now that I have a fix on it. But you won't have a chance against Soundwave."

"I will if I have backup." he turned to Miko and she knew what he meant. She went and grabbed the Apex Armor and suited up.

On board the Decepticon bridge a groundbridge materialised to Soundwave's surprise then a human jumped through. Megatron's troops hesitated for few seconds too long.

"Surprise," said Jack. Behind him Miko burst through the groundbridge and her firsts collided with the 'Cons. Just as predicted Soundwave opened up a groundbridge in front of them.

"Now, Raf," Jack hoped his plan would work. Behind Soundwave Rafael opened up another groundbridge and the two streams of the groundbridges entwined. In between the two portals Soundwave was suddenly transported away to another plane of existence.

"Enjoy the Shadow Zone, dude." Miko joked.

"Come on, we need to figure out how to navigate this thing." Jack urged her onwards to the nearest control panel. Since he couldn't read any Cybertronian code Jack began randomly pushing buttons to see what would happen. The ship swerved to the left then he pushed another button causing it to swerve to the right.

"Whoa!" exclaimed Miko trying to gain her balance. "Dude, where'd you learn to drive?"

* * *

Below them Arcee was facing off with the Starscream, she grabbed hold of the wall trying to steady herself as the ship rocked from side to side. Smokescreen ran past her carrying Optimus' Starsaber and she figured out what his plan was. She followed him together with Bumblebee and caught up with Ratchet who was engaged in a fierce battle with Shockwave. Just as Smokescreen went to throw the Starsaber to Optimus he was hit from a blast of Shockwave's weapon causing the sword to fall to the ground. Starscream tried to stop Arcee and Bumblebee from reaching it but Arcee beat him to the ground allowing Bumblebee to get the sword. She watched, while subduing Starscream, how Bumblebee defeated Shockwave and jumped down to where Optimus and Megatron were fighting on top of the Omega Lock.

Next time suddenly seemed to flow almost to a standstill as Arcee watched Bumblebee leap from the platform of the Omega Lock towards Optimus Prime. Megatron lifted his arm up and pointed it towards Bumblebee, the canon on his arm charged and fired three shots. Bumblebee almost seemed suspended in mid-air as the shots slowly inched towards him. Then one by one they hit him in the chest where his spark was.

"Noooo," cried Arcee. The other autobots' optics fixed on Bumblebee as he slowly fell down into the pool of blue liquid inside the Omega Lock and faded into the abyss.

Starscream gave an evil grin and the other autobots called out for their fallen comrade. Arcee heard Optimus shout and push Megatron to the ground with all his might. Megatron was down and Optimus approached him, taking aim at the evil 'bot when suddenly Megatron spun round. His dark corrupted version of the Star Saber, blasted Optimus with a bolt of pure dark energon and knocked him back.

"Prepare to join your scout in the AllSpark." he said standing over Optimus and raising the dark blade high above his head.

From behind him someone called his name.

"Megatron!"

Then the warlord gave a groan and looked down to see the StarSaber protruding from his spark chamber. His eyes followed the length of the blade until his eyes met with those of none other than Bumblebee.

Arcee couldn't believe her eyes. Just as all hope was lost there was Bumblebee wielding the Star Saber, the magnificent sword penetrating Megatron. She'd witnessed Bumblebee perish moments ago yet there he stood victorious over Megatron and … he had his voice. She watched as the once powerful and mighty Megatron fell backwards down to Earth. They'd done it. Bumblebee helped Optimus up and the others gathered around them.

"I have my pipes back!" said Bumblebee hugging Ratchet.

"Heh. Yes. Yes, we noticed." the medic said. The only explanation was that when Bumblebee had fallen into the pile of Cyber-matter it had brought him back from the dead and healed his broken voice box.

"It would seem the old field medic made good after all." said Optimus then he opened his commlink. "Optimus prime to all units. Megatron is no more."

Fowler jumped for joy and Rafael cheered.

Optimus then thanked the Wreckers for securing the bridge but Ultra Magnus corrected him and told him that the credit belonged to the humans. Jack stood calmly while Miko did a little victory dance.

"Jack," Said Arcee over the comm. "I thought I told you not to do anything stupid while I was gone."

"You're welcome, Cee."

* * *

The members of team Prime, except Ratchet and Optimus, had gathered on the bridge of the Decepticon warship, they were orbiting the barren planet Cybertron and heading for a place called the Well of AllSparks. It was a deep trench that lead to the core of the planet and it was here that Optimus and Ratchet prepared the Omega Lock to fire.

Arcee stood behind Jack as they watched the planet slowly come alive. It was the most beautiful thing he'd ever seen, the rebirth of a whole planet. A blue light coursed through the planet like veins slowly but surely resurrecting it. At the same time Jack felt a sadness deep down, he'd hoped that Arcee would stay on Earth with him. When he'd asked her if she wanted to stay with him it was because he didn't think there would ever be a way for her to get home. Here he was, looking out on a newly restored planet, a sight which none of them had ever thought they'd get to see.

A shadow flickered and they could see the beating wings of the Predaking as he flew into the first sunrise on Neo Cybertron. Perhaps it was the start of a new age of peace between more than one species on the planet Cybertron.

* * *

Once they were all back on Earth Optimus held a speech.

"Though our home world is once again capable of supporting life, we have much rebuilding to do. Alas, we will miss our home away from home, and the family we've made here." Optimus looked over to the humans.

"If 'Cons are still out there," asked Raf, "won't Earth be on their radar?"

"Raf, if you ever need me, need us, " said Bumblebee, it would take the boy some time to get used to finally being able to hear his companion talk. "for any reason, we're just a space bridge away."

"Besides, we'll be in good hands with you, Jack and Miko, continuing to serve Unit-E." said agent Fowler. "In a semi-official capacity." he added.

"Whoa, we're agents?" asked Miko.

"Consultant." butted in Jack's mom. "Until you're of age, right Bill." she looked to Fowler.

Then Ratchet stepped forwards and declared his intention of wishing to remain on Earth.

"Ratchet," Arcee exclaimed. "You of all…"

"Yip-yip-yip!" Ratchet waved his arm at her. "I know where I am needed."

The bots packed their things and said their final goodbyes. The sphere was solemn, if they could they would have stayed but Cybertron is their home. Miko sobbed her heart out and held onto Bulkhead's large index finger. The big guy had a real soft spot for the human child. Raf and Bumblebee said their goodbyes too and then it was Jack's turn to say goodbye to Arcee.

Never had they both imagined how hard it would be to let each other go. After all they'd been through together, the bonds they'd formed and the feelings that they'd shared. Jack knew she couldn't stay, her planet needed her more than he ever would. He stood above Arcee on the scaffolding at the base, for once he could look down on her and not the other way around.

"It's been quite a ride." he smiled meekly.

Arcee's jaw trembled and she wondered if her servos were malfunctioning, her spark had never ached so hard in her entire life. It hurt worse than losing Cliffjumper and Tailgate. No matter what she felt for Jack, her home was Cybertron.

"Keep in touch, Jack," she said softly, she could see the sorrow on Jack's face. "Don't make me hunt you down." she turned to leave.

"Arcee," Jack ran halfway down the stairs of the scaffolding and she walked over to him. He reached out his hand towards her and she pressed his palm against her cheek. "So that's it then. You're leaving?"

"Don't make this harder than it already is, Jack." he looked into her optics, their faces inched closer together, his lips moved towards hers. She knew what a kiss meant, she knew his intention and it would only make things worse if she let him kiss her. At the last moment she turned her head and simply kissed him on the cheek. Deep inside her chest it felt like something was tugging at her spark.

"Goodbye, Smooth Operator." she stepped away from the stairs and towards the space bridge. Jack struggled to hold back a single tear which flowed down his cheek where she had kissed him and onto the floor.

Fowler had his arm around his future wife and saluted the remainder of the Autobot team. The green glow of the space bridge filled the room and Optimus shook hands with Ratchet.

"Until we meet again, old friend." said Optimus and one by one the Autobots melted into the vortex of the space bridge back to their planet Cybertron.

* * *

 **A/N Don't worry this isn't the end of the story! Stay tuned for the next chapter. Yes, I know there are loose ends but this is the part where the real story starts and no longer follows the continuity of the show.**

 **The perfect song for Arcee and Jack this chapter is Broken (feat. Amy Lee) by Seether. It kind of describes what they feel now they are apart. I like the version with Amy Lee cos I can see Arcee as the female vocals and Jack as the male vocals.**


	17. Chapter 17

**A/N Hello dear readers, I hope you all had a good Easter. Here's my little Easter gift to you ;-)**

 **Okay so here the real story begins. This takes place after the transformers film so Optimus is dead as a dodo. Ultra Magnus is the governor of the new council of Cybertron. Arcee is also a governess since there's no longer any need to fight. The Cybertronians have a new form of government based on federalism. Part of the council also contains representatives from Decepticons and Predacons. Bumblebee has the same role as in Robots in Disguise, he trains new police bots. Bulkhead got back into construction, Wheeljack is in charge of building new spacecraft, Smokescreen is into racing and gambling.**

 **Warning this contains a scrapload of dialogue in the beginning.**

* * *

 **3 years later….**

"Governess, Arcee. You have an incoming transmission from Bulkhead. Shall I put him through?" Came a female voice from the console panel in front of Arcee.

"Yes, thank you Elitia. Put him through."

"Bulkhead, it's been a while."

"Governess,-"

"Bulk, enough with the formalities."

"Arcee, I've received news about Earth from Ratchet. It seems that there are Decepticons on Earth."

"Impossible, all Decepticon vessels were accounted for on their return to Cybertron. Does Ultra Magnus know about this?"

"I tried contacting him but I couldn't get through to him. So anyway I … er … was thinking maybe we should go check it out. I'd really like to go and visit Miko, I can't remember the last time I heard from her."

"I can't just up and leave, Bulkhead."

"Ach come on Arcee, aren't you aching for some action? Surely a desk job hasn't made you go soft has it?"

"I'll think about it. I can't promise you anything."

"Well I thought you should know that Bumblebee and Smokescreen are coming along too."

"Really?"

"Yeah, it'd be just like old times."

There was a bleep at the door to Arcee's office inside the High Council Tower.

"I have to go, Bulk, I have a meeting to attend to."

"Alright, but should you want to tag along with us to Earth, let us know by tonight. We're planning on leaving tomorrow morning."

The transmission ended and Arcee touched a glowing panel on the console which opened the door to her left.

"Ah, Arcee, lovely to see you as always." Knockout entered the room and sat down in front her silvery white metallic desk.

"Enough with the flattery, Knockout, what do you want?"

"Well I'm here to see you," he said flirtatiously.

"Governor Knockout are you here to flirt with me or are you here for actual business?" she said rather annoyed with the way the ex-Decepticon was behaving.

"You really do need to lighten up, Arcee, anyway I'm here to hand you these." he placed some data keys on her desk. "Requests from the Cybertronians of Kaon for more energon rations."

"You know as well as I do that we cannot afford to increase rations. The rations were put in place so that we could all have an equal share in our most precious resource."

"Well," said Knockout rather matter-of-factly. "There have been rumours that cities with a majority population of ex-Decepticons are receiving less rations than those with a majority population of Autobots."

"That's not true and you know it," Arcee said defensively. "This government was put in place to ensure that all Cybertronians are treated as equals. Why else do you think we allowed you on the council?"

"Touché, mon amie. Well anyway I'm just the messenger so with that. I'll shall take my leave."

And with that Knockout left. Arcee sighed and rubbed her digits against the front of her cranial chamber. For some reason her circuits there were aching. Perhaps it was the strain of trying to keep the peace between the ex-Decepticons and Autobots or just the fact that since she'd accepted this post her life had become rather mundane. Three years ago she was fighting for this planet and now she was pushing data and holding the most boring of meetings. She was still fighting for peace but not in the same way as before. Even her body longed for the rush she felt in the battlefield when her weapons were engaged. She flexed her hand and digits then transformed them into her blaster weapons and then back. It had been ages since she'd last done that then she thought of Bulkhead's offer. Going to Earth would be nice but then… she'd have to face... him...

Arcee pressed some keys on her console and bought up a picture of Jack. He was smiling, happy and standing with the others from team Prime. She focused her optics for a moment on his face and her spark ached a little. Then Arcee pressed another key.

"Elitia?"

"Yes, ma'am."

"I'm going to be out of town for a while. Would you mind taking over?"

"May I ask why ma'am?"

"It's kind of … personal."

"Alright, is there anything else I can do for you?"

"Not at the moment, thanks."

* * *

On Earth Jack had just graduated. His mother and agent Fowler congratulated him.

"I'm so proud of you," his mother said hugging him tightly and Fowler gave Jack a pat on the shoulder.

"Me too, son."

"Ackie," said a small voice and Jack bent down to scoop the small toddler up who was at his feet. The little girl wriggled in his arms and when she was level with his face she pulled the graduate cap off of his head.

"Hey, squirt, give that back," Jack's hand inched towards the cap as she waved it around playfully.

"Alright, Jacey, give it back to Jack," said Jack's mother. Jacey reluctantly did as she was told and Jack nuzzled her on the cheek causing her to chuckle.

Rafael came over with Miko who was holding onto his arm, once she had been taller than him but that was no longer the case. He'd turned into quite the strapping young man. Of course Rafael had graduated the year before Jack even though he was a few years younger than him.

"Iko! Af!" Jacey's arms reached towards Miko and she took the toddler from Jack.

"You're getting a big girl now, aren't you?" Miko said and gave Jacey a playful tickle which caused her to burst out in a fit of giggles. "Your little sister is so adorable, Jack."

* * *

Arcee and the others were gathered at the space bridge bound for Earth. It was good to see each other again.

"All set?" asked Bumblebee.

"Hang on, we're still waiting for someone." said Smokescreen. Arcee wondered who they were waiting for but she didn't have to wait long for Knockout entered the room and came towards them.

"You've got to be kidding me," Arcee groaned.

"I hope you don't mind me joining you on this little getaway," he smirked at Arcee and brushed past her.

"Why are you here?" she demanded.

"I invited him," Smokescreen answered. "I figured if there are still Decepticons on Earth who better to help us than an ex-Decepticon."

"And you didn't think to inform us?" Arcee crossed her arms.

"Didn't think I had to," Smokescreen answered rather nonchalantly.

"Did anyone invite anyone else?" Bumblebee asked over the chatter of the others and they went silent. "Okay then, let's roll out." And with that they left Neo Cybertron and headed back towards Earth.

"Good to see you again," Ratchet shook hands with Bumblebee, "How are things on Neo Cybertron?"

"Things could be… better," said Arcee.

"Is that so?" Ratchet went over to her and placed his arm on her shoulder. "Well, as the humans say, Rome wasn't built in a day."

"You can say that again," she looked around the base. They were in a new facility which she didn't recognise. Ratchet showed them around the new base and explained what he'd been doing on Earth the past three years. He also listened to their stories of Neo Cybertron. The new base had been custom built to accommodate humans and Autobots. It was also a secret weapons testing facility that was only accessible by groundbridge or air. Other military personnel worked there too but rarely came into the main hub. There were multiple training rooms for Autobots and humans alike, also basic facilities such as showers and a mess hall. The new base was much better equipped than their old base in a missile silo. From above it looked an equilateral triangle shape, with a square on each corner and in the centre a courtyard with a helipad. After the tour they headed back to the main hub.

"Do Raf and the others know we're here?" Bumblebee asked.

"Just agent Fowler, he'll be here later to debrief you. Why?" replied Ratchet.

"Cos I was thinking of paying them a surprise visit." winked the yellow and black 'bot. "Right after we get our Earth vehicle modes. Did agent Fowler get the car I asked for?"

"Right this way," Ratchet lead them to a hanger and Bumblebee's eyes lit up as he saw a Chevrolet Camaro muscle car before him. Several other vehicles were assembled for the team to choose from including a sport bike motorcycle.

* * *

Arcee and the others groundbridged to Jasper, Nevada. It had been three years since she'd last set foot, or in her current form - wheel - in town. They town had been rebuilt and at its centre there was a large shopping mall. The group split up and searched for their human friends. Arcee headed towards the mall first, hoping that this was where she'd find them and Jack. Her spark gave a dull ache as she thought of him. She didn't know what she was going to do when she saw him. No doubt he would want to know why she hadn't stayed in touch.

Her hunch paid off and she found Jack just leaving the building. She noticed how much he'd changed since she last saw him. He hadn't grown much taller but his body had somewhat thickened out and his hair was much shorter than before. Next to him a small human child was holding his hand. The child was dark skinned, with jet black curly hair and resembled Jack somewhat. She observed as his picked up the child and kissed her on the cheek. Had he perhaps found himself a mate and had a child? The idea made her feel sad, he'd forgotten about her already, yet what was she to have expected. She hadn't talked to him since she'd left Earth so it was only natural that he'd moved on with his life. Arcee hoped Jack was finally happy and decided against making contact with him for she didn't want to go ruining his new life. She headed back to base and waited for the others to return.

* * *

Bulkhead and Bumblebee returned with Rafael and Miko. They giggled and cheered as the two skidded to a halt once inside the hub leaving two sets of tyre tracks on the floor right across the Autobot insignia on the floor. Raf and Miko got out and the 'bots transformed behind them. They greeted Smokescreen and were at first surprised to see Knockout but after Bumblebee's quick explanation of why he was here they seemed to settle down.

"Where's Jack?" Rafael asked looking around.

"Cee?" Bulkhead looked over to her.

"I didn't find him," she lied.

"I'll call him." Miko said reaching for her phone. "We need to get team Prime back together."

"Maybe I should go back to Neo Cybertron," said Arcee. "I have some business to attend to."

"Is everything alright, Cee?" Bumblebee came over to her most concerned.

"I… I just don't think I'm ready to see him yet." she looked away from Bumblebee avoiding his gaze. "Besides I'm sure by now he has a family of his own and I don't want to put him or their lives in danger."

"Woah, woah, woah," said Miko coming over and putting her phone away. "What did you just say?"

"I don't want to put him or his loved ones in danger."

"Arcee, Jack doesn't have a girlfriend." she rested her hand against Arcee's shin. "He never has because he still hasn't gotten over you." the bot was surprised to hear such news. Was it really true what Miko was saying? There was only one way to find out.

"I'll let him know I'm here," she said and began to type a message on her communicator.

 _Hey, Smooth Operator._

Miko jumped in the air with joy and hugged Rafael. "We're getting the band back together!"

Jack arrived at base with agent Fowler, his mother and Jacey. Arcee then realised that the child she'd seen Jack with wasn't his child but the child of his mother and agent Fowler. She felt somewhat relieved. Agent Fowler formally welcomed the Autobots to the new base, Earth Outpost 1. The room erupted with conversation as everyone started to catch up with each other.

"Long time no see, Arcee." Jack said walking over to his former partner.

"It's nice to see you too, Jack." she couldn't help but smile at him and he gave a smile back.

"Ooh, look at you two lovebirds." Knockout butted in. Arcee elbowed him in the side causing him cry out "Watch the finish. I don't want any scratches."

"Hey, Jacey, would you like to meet a friend of mine?" Jack asked his little sister as she looked around in awe at the giant robotic creatures. He picked up the girl. "This is Arcee. Arcee, meet Jacey, my sister."

"I see Fowler and June have been busy."

"You have no idea," he said gesturing as his mother. Arcee looked and saw that June looked somewhat inflated around the stomach area. If she remembered what she's learnt about humans in the past, it meant that June was growing another human inside her body. Arcee felt repulsed by the whole process since back on Neo Cybertron all Cybertronians where produced by the Allspark. She couldn't imagine what it would be like if she'd have to grow a protoform inside her and gave a little shudder at the thought.

"Where's Optimus?" Jack asked noticing that one of the members of team Prime was unaccounted for.

Arcee looked down with a glimmer of sadness in her eyes. "He is one with the Allspark."

"What do you mean?"

Arcee explained to Jack how Optimus Prime had set out in search of the Allspark, the ancient artefact capable of allowing their race to propagate, and how he had given up his life to ensure that it reached Neo Cybertron.

"I'm sorry to hear that."

Agent Fowler called everyone to attention. It was time for them to be briefed about why they were on Earth. He explained that there had been an attack on a military base in the Saudi Desert and that the perpetrators had been described as giant robots. Rafael and Ratchet had been analysing the data from the crime scene and concluded that all evidence pointed to Decepticons. That's why they had decided to contact Bumblebee to assemble team Prime to help out with the Decepticon problem.

"I'm taking Jacey home, Bill, she needs her nap" June said and kissed her husband goodbye. "See you later, Jack."

"Bye, mom, bye, Jacey." he hugged his mother and sister goodbye.

* * *

After the debriefing Jack walked with Arcee around the base and they talked about what they had been doing the past few years. Jack told her how he'd graduated as a field agent and she talked about how she was working for the Neo Cybertronian government, much to Jack's surprise. He hadn't really thought of her as a bureaucratic type. They headed outside to the courtyard.

"There's something that's been bugging me, Cee," he suddenly said. "Why didn't you say in touch?"

"Jack," she sighed. "Do you know what is worse than losing two partners?" He looked up into her optics. "It's losing a partner and knowing that he's still alive on the other side of the galaxy and that no matter how much you want it to work you know it won't because you and him are too different."

"You could have stayed, Cee."

"Jack, you don't understand. I have been alive for millennia, compared to me your lifespan is like a blip on the radar; over in seconds. I know that eventually time will steal you away from me."

"Then why did you come back," he said sounded rather annoyed now.

"I don't know," she spat back. "But I'm starting to think it was a mistake coming back. Maybe I should have stayed on Neo Cybertron."

"You think you can just come back into my life and act like nothing has changed between us? You have no idea how much you hurt me. I thought you were going to stay and then the moment you knew that you could go back, you left me!"

"Jack, wait!" Arcee called out as Jack ran off towards the door that lead inside the base. He'd become faster than she remembered so she quickly transformed and chased after him. She cut in front of him.

"Out of my way, Arcee." he ran around her not even bothering to notice that she'd chosen a newer model of her previous vehicular mode. She transformed back and sat against the side of one of the compound's walls. A while later she heard large footsteps approaching.

"Looks like blue is feeling a little blue," it was Knockout.

"What do you want?" she glared at him.

"I couldn't help but notice your human pet looked upset when he returned without you."

"It's none of your business, Knockout."

"Whatever you say, my sweet," he shrugged and walked away.

Arcee looked up at the stars and towards the star which Neo Cybertron orbited. Had it all been worth it?

* * *

 **A/N I hope you enjoyed it. Knockout has a huge crush on Arcee if it wasn't obvious. Jack and Arcee aren't sure about what to do about the way they feel. At the moment they are both confused and uncertain. Arcee has never had these feelings before and wasn't aware of them so she's having the hardest time dealing with it all. Jack did date other girls during the time skip yet none of them could compare to the way he feels about Arcee. I'm halfway through writing the next chapter although I have another internship coming up so I'll try my best to get the next chapter up before the end of the month.**


	18. Chapter 18

**A/N I forgot to mention in the previous chapter that Megatron is somewhere travelling the galaxy looking for a new purpose in life *shrugs* (actually I forgot to write him in this story but then remembered at the end of Predacons Rising he'd sort of given up fighting the Autobots which, in my opinion, after everything in the series was rather lame…) Arachnid and Silas didn't meet the same fates as in the original series. More of what happened to them will be explained in this chapter.**

* * *

It had been two days since Jack had had his argument with Arcee. By now she was probably back on Neo Cybertron. He rolled over in his bed, not really wanting to get up when he heard the sound of a horn beeping from the garage. It wasn't his mother's or step-father's car horns. Carefully he slid out of bed and took his handgun out from its locker under the bed then made his way down the stairs and towards his garage. He hoped it wasn't a burglar as he turned the doorknob.

"Arcee, what are you doing here?" he asked hardly believing his eyes. She was in her vehicular mode.

"Get some clothes on, we're going for a drive." she commanded.

He still felt annoyed about the argument but decided he had to hear what she was going to say. He'd expected her to have left and the fact she was still here on Earth meant that perhaps she had something she needed to say to him.

Minutes later Jack was dressed and wearing the leather jacket he had once received as a birthday gift. He got on Arcee for the first time in years, her seat felt softer than he remembered and underneath him her engine purred. His heart beat faster as the garage door opened up and she set off. The morning air was already hot for it was summer and there wasn't much of a breeze either, the heat on the tarmac created the illusion that the road was wet. Jack recognised where they were going, it had been years since they last went there.

Arcee reached the top of her old thinking spot, a rocky outcrop in the middle of the desert. Jack slid off of her and she transformed. They both stood at the edge looking out, remembering the previous times they had been up here together, it seemed like forever ago.

"I'm sorry," the female Autobot began. "for not staying in touch."

Jack gave a sigh. "Cee…"

"I'm scared, Jack." those words caused Jack to look up, right now he felt she was the most vulnerable he'd ever seen her despite the layers of metal and the brave face she wore. "I thought that if I didn't stay in touch you'd forget about me and I'd forget about you. We'd both be able to move on with our lives and that I could start a new one on Neo Cybertron."

"So why did you come back?" Jack asked and placed his hand on her calf.

"Because deep down in my spark I knew I had to see you again. You've awakened feelings inside of me I didn't know I could feel." she knelt down and cupped his face in her hand. He reached out and placed his hands of top of hers. His heart was racing.

Suddenly Arcee was interrupted by the sound of Ratchet's voice though her commlink. "Arcee, is Jack with you?"

She let her hand slip out of Jack's grasp and stood up to answer the call.

"Yes"

Scrap, thought Jack, Ratchet had the worst timing.

"I'm sending you two a groundbridge here. Agent Fowler is requesting everyone back at base, there's a Decepticon attack on progress."

A green portal appeared and they headed through. Once everyone was gathered around Agent Fowler briefed them on their mission. There was currently a Decepticon attack in progress at an oil processing plant in Russia and they were to stop the Decepticons at all costs. Should they fail, then it had the potential to cause a war since the Russians were blaming the Americans for this attack.

"Jack, Miko, time to suit up." he said.

"Hey, Bulkhead, you're going to love this." Miko called out as she took a round device from out of her locker and placed it on her chest. Jack did the same and then they pressed the button in the middle. Immediately from its centre metal sprang out and spread across their bodies, it formed a protective suit around them.

"Do you remember the Apex Armor?" Rafael explained to the others. "Well Ratchet helped develop this scaled down version of it. It may not be as durable as the original Apex Armor but it can withstand a metric ton of pressure per square centimetre."

"Raf, enough with the science stuff. All they need to know is that we can smash stuff without being smashed." she punched Bulkhead playfully on the arm and he rubbed where she had hit him.

"Impressive." he remarked and the other Autobots where impressed too.

"Ready?" Ratchet asked as he reached towards the lever for the groundbridge. Rafael had already typed in the coordinates.

The team stepped through and found themselves in a taiga landscape. They could see a pillar of smoke raising up from a nearby building.

"Arcee, Jack and Smokescreen you're with me. Knockout, Miko and Bulkhead you're the assault team. Draw their fire while we evacuate civilians."

Bulkhead nodded and gestured for Miko and Knockout to follow.

"Why do we have to do the dirty work?" groaned Knockout before transforming.

Arcee and Bumblebee transformed and Jack got atop his favourite two-wheeler, the extra weight of the armour slowed her down. They approached the Decepticons and noticed that they weren't behaving as normal Decepticons do with their rather erratic behaviour, instead they seemed to be acting more like a military unit.

"Ratchet, we have a visual on the Decepticons." Jack spoke into his commlink.

Ratchet checked the screen and looked at Rafael, they weren't picking up any Decepticon bio-signatures.

"Jack, can you confirm that they are Decepticons?"

"What's wrong Ratchet?"

"We aren't picking up any Deception signals."

"We'll try to get a little closer. Come on Arcee."

They edged towards the Decepticons. Bulkhead and the others had already engaged them and shots were being exchanged.

"There, civilians." Jack pointed and Arcee lead him towards some workers who were cowering amongst the rubble.

"This way," he waved and Bumblebee opened his doors to let them in. Then Jack looked up at the Decepticons. They didn't have their Decepticon insignia instead where it should have been it looked as if it had been worn away.

"I've got a visual, Ratchet." Jack announced. "But you're not going to believe this." He described the missing insignias and the way they were behaving.

"All civilians cleared." Bumblebee announced over the commlink. The two teams were converging and forcing the Decepticons the retreat. One took a direct hit and fell to the ground.

"Bumblebee, if you can try to bring one of the Decepticons back with you. There's something strange about them." Ratchet ordered.

The dust and smoke cleared and they were sure they'd taken down at least two Decepticons but could only recover one of the bodies, the other was nowhere to be found. They bought it back to base and tied it down to the medical bay. Ratchet and Rafael were examining the Decepticon most intently and then Rafael noticed a small button near the chest plate. He pushed it and it gave a hiss then the spark chamber opened up but instead of the glow of a spark they found there was a human inside it.

"By the AllSpark, it's not a Decepticon at all. It's some kind of abomination." exclaimed Ratchet. The human was barely breathing and June was summoned to the base to help out. Together with Rafael and Ratchet they determined that the human was fused with the nervous system of the Decepticon and that there was no way she could get him out without killing him. His breathing grew weaker and June tried her best to reanimate him to no avail.

"He's gone," she said inspecting the wires connecting to the man's body. "I don't know how or why anyone would allow themselves to have this done to them."

"It's downright barbaric, that's what it is." Ratchet fumed. "Using a Decepticon's body to fuse with a human."

"Actually, this isn't the first time I've seen this kind of thing." Knockout came over.

"What do you mean?" the Autobot medic asked.

"Back when I was working for Megatron, Silas came to us. He was inside Breakdown's body."

"Ah yes, I remember." Ratchet said referring to the time that Silas had tried to ally himself with Megatron by giving the power-hungry warlord access to the Damocles satellite. Megatron had attempted to use the satellite to destroy the Autobots and thankfully had been stopped.

"I'm afraid we ended up losing Silas. He managed to slip out of our grip and take Arachnid along with him." Knockout explained.

"Wait," Arcee said. "so you're telling me Arachnid is alive and she's out there somewhere and you didn't think to tell us sooner?"

"I didn't think it was important," shrugged Knockout. "Besides, nobody has seen or heard from her in years. For all we know Silas has had her locked up somewhere all this time for his little projects. I mean how else would you explain this." he pointed at the Decepticon/human fusion on the medical bay.

Jack could tell Arcee was seething, after all she'd done to capture Arachnid. She knew she should have taken that wench's spark when she'd had the chance. Jack followed Arcee as she went outside, she couldn't stand to be in the same room as Knockout right now.

"What?" Knockout shrugged as everyone else glared at him.

"Arcee and Arachnid have a history." Bumblebee said.

"Oh," Knockout said. "Right… that…" he shrugged. "Désolé."

Since Knockout had had some experience with Decepticon/human fusions, due to keeping Silas on board the Decepticon warship while he was working for Megatron, it was decided that he would help Ratchet and Rafael learn as much as they could about the "chimera".

"Arcee, wait." Jack said following her down a corridor.

"I thought it was over and now she's back." she looked down gloomily.

"You don't have to fight her alone this time."

She looked at the human beside her. "You're right, I don't. Thank you, Jack."

Arcee knelt down and embraced Jack. They'd been standing like that for some moments when Jack heard the sound of someone clearing their throat.

"Mom," he said feeling a bit embarrassed as Arcee released him from the hug.

"I'm heading home. I need to pick Jacey up from day care. I'll see you two later." she smiled.

The pair looked at each other then followed June back to the hub.

* * *

June pulled up to the driveway, got out then took Jacey from her safety seat and headed inside. Jacey had fallen asleep during the car ride so she settled her down in her crib before starting on washing the dishes and preparing dinner for when her husband and son got home. She looked out the window and noticed a small child of about six years old walking around outside. After about five minutes she noticed the child was still alone and wondered where the child's parents were. Her motherly instinct caused her to go outside and investigate.

"Hey sweetie," she said kindly and the child looked up at her with her large blue eyes. "Where are your parents?"

"I don't know," the little girl replied.

"Do you have a name?"

"I'm Abigail."

"Hi, Abigail. I'm June. Why don't you come inside and I'll try to find out where your mommy and daddy are?"

The little girl nodded and took June's hand. Back inside June had gotten Abigail a drink and was on the phone to the local sheriff asking if anyone had reported a missing child. Suddenly she heard the shattering of a glass and spun around in surprise. The glass which Abigail had been holding was in pieces and embedded in her hand. She immediately told the sheriff she had to go and put down the phone quickly. Abigail was sat quite calmly looking at her hand. Most other children would have cried.

"Don't touch it, sweetie, I'll try to remove it but it might hurt." June said as she carefully inspected Abigail's hand. At closer inspection she saw that Abigail was bleeding but it wasn't normal blood, it was bright blue. She quickly got her medical case and disinfected the wound then carefully with a pair of tweezers removed a shard of glass. June watched in awe as underneath her skin it was like metal and then to her amazement her skin seemed to automatically knit itself back together and the wound healed. There wasn't even a mark to show where the glass shard had been. She knew she couldn't take Abigail to a hospital so there was only one place she could take her.

Once Jacey was awake and she called Ratchet for a groundbridge in the garage. Abigail was frightened at first of the green glow and with some gentle encouragement she held onto June's hand and followed her through.

"Sugar, what are you doing here?" Agent Fowler asked. She started to explain to her husband what had happened and that she'd decided to bring the child to the base since their equipment was more high tech than anything a hospital had.

Miko came and took Jacey from June and moments later the toddler was happily bouncing up and down on her knee.

"Wouldn't it be nice to have one of our own one day, Raf?" she smiled.

"Miko, aren't we a little young? I'm not even an adult yet."

"I'm teasing you," she stuck out her tongue at her boyfriend and Jacey giggled.

While everyone was occupied Abigail snuck away from June's side and walked over to a nearby console. She reached out her hand and her fingers and hands split into segments, then the segments split into segments and she began typing on the keyboard with unrivalled dexterity.

Rafael was on his computer when he noticed something odd.

"Agent Fowler, someone is accessing our computer system."

"What in tarnation? Who?"

"It's coming from inside the building." Rafael typed away on his computer.

"Wait, where's Abigail?" June said looking around. Then they saw her at the console typing. Agent Fowler drew his gun and aimed it at the child.

"Bill, no, she's a child!" his wife cried out.

"Not if she's able to break into our computer system."

Knockout came over and raised his weapon too, this scared Abigail and then to their amazement she transformed. Her body contorted and moved around, she grew three times her original height and had a gun pointed a Knockout.

"Abigail, what's going on?" June went to go over to her but Fowler stopped her.

"No, June, not in your condition." he said protectively getting between her and Abigail. Ratchet also had his blades at the ready.

"I'm sorry," Abigail wept. "I can't help it. I don't know how to make it stop." she fired a shot towards June then another at the console closest to her. Knockout fired back and missed, Ratchet hit the alarm button and a siren ran through the base. Bumblebee, Smokescreen and Bulkhead burst into the hub with their weapons engaged. Abigail fired at the ceiling causing dust to fall and used this moment to slip between the Autobots. Her small size giving her the advantage. They chased after her.

"Don't let her get outside." yelled Bumblebee as they chased her down the corridor. Miltary personnel was also converging on their position to assist.

Back in the hub Fowler was tending to June. The blast had knocked her over on her side and Fowler had a cut above his eyebrow. Jacey was crying and Miko was trying to soothe her.

"Rafael, get us a groundbridge to the nearest hospital. Ratchet we're going to need your vehicle mode." the agent commanded. "Where's Jack?"

"I dunno, he's out with Arcee."

"Contact him and let him know what has happened. Miko, can you watch Jacey for me?"

Bumblebee and the others came back into the hub.

"She got away." he reported. "There was a stealth helicopter waiting for her outside."

"Damn it," Fowler yelled as he helped June into Ratchet. Rafael dialled in coordinates for a groundbridge and they drove on through.

* * *

Jack was with Arcee at the last known location of Arachnid, they were looking to see if she had returned to her old nest. So far there were no signs anyone had been there in years. All of the insecticons had been destroyed some years prior and there was nothing left.

"Jack," it was Miko on the commlink. "There's been an incident at the base. Your mother's been hurt and Fowler's taken her to the hospital."

* * *

 **A/N the part with Abigail typing on the console was inspired by Ghost in the Shell so I don't take any credit for that.**


	19. Chapter 19

**Hello dear readers, sorry for the late upload. I had hoped to get this up last week but it ended up being delayed due to the amount of course work I have. The next chapter will be uploaded after the 18th of June. I have the last few school assignments and my dissertation to hand in then I have to present my work too so I'm going to be very busy the next month.**

 **Thank you all for your continued support in the form of kind messages, reviews, favourites and follows. I really do appreciate it :-)**

 **A/N Jack calls agent Fowler "Bill" now since he's married to his mother. He can't exactly keep calling him agent Fowler although when they're working he refers to him as "sir".**

* * *

"Well done, dear daughter." said a voice from the shadows. Abigail ran up to the giant metal figure. "You've made me very proud."

"Don't you mean made us very proud, Silas?" said a spidery voice. From the ceiling a metal woman started to descend on a thick piece of silk thread, her eight legs tapped the ground as she landed beside them.

"Indeed." he said petting Abigail gently on her head.

Abigail walked up to a cylinder shaped glass tank and placed at hand on it. Inside was another little girl suspended in a yellow fluid but this girl was far from normal. She had blond hair and 6 pairs of purple eyes, and where her legs were supposed to be there was instead a spider's cephalothorax and abdomen with eight pairs of legs.

"When can little sister come out to play?" she asked watching the as the girl in the tank twitched now and again in the dim lights that illuminated it.

"Soon, my dear, very soon." Arachnid came over to the girl and placed a hand on her shoulder. "But for now you must rest. You know how transforming takes up most of your energon." Abigail followed the spider to her quarters.

When Arachnid returned she came over to Silas.

"How much longer do you want us to play mommy and daddy to that little freak?" She asked with irritation.

"For as long as necessary. Her full potential is still unknown to us and she was only the first attempt. The second batch has a faster growth rate and because they have been fused with your CNA I believe they are far more superior than her."

"Is that so." she said looking out at the other tanks with various spider-like humanoids at different stages in development. "And how much longer for these?"

"I'd say about a week given the dosage of growth formula we've been giving them. Then we can start their training."

"I don't think that's going to be necessary, Silas. The instinct to hunt and kill, it's in a spider's nature after all." she smirked.

"Then we obviously have a lot more in common than we thought." Silas replied.

Back in her quarters Abigail lay on her bed. She took hold of her dolly and hugged it. Then she took her arm and it transformed into a weapon and promptly shot the head off the doll. It landed some feet away then she threw the rest of the doll's body on the floor and inspected her arm.

"Why?" she thought. "Why do I have to hurt people? I don't like hurting people."

* * *

Jack arrived at the hospital with Arcee, agent Fowler was waiting for him in the reception area.

"Bill, is mom okay?" he asked and noticed the stitched cut above his step-father's eye. "and where's Jacey?"

"Jacey is fine, she's with Miko. Your mom is going to be fine too." Jack felt relieved. On the way to his mother's room he explained what had happened.

"So this child, creature, whatever it was is still out there?"

"Afraid so, son,"

They arrived at June's room but had to wait a moment as the nurse was tending to her. Once they were allowed in Jack hugged his mother.

"Mom, are you okay?"

"I'm fine now." Jack looked around and saw that there was a foetal heart rate monitor on her stomach. "Junior is doing good too." she smiled when she noticed her son looking at the screen. The rhythm of the baby's heartbeat appeared on the screen. Agent Fowler came over and took hold of her hand.

"We think you ought to be the first to know, Jack." he said. "You're going to have a little brother."

"Really?"

His mother nodded and smiled then pulled him into a hug. Their embrace was interrupted by the sound of Agent Fowler's cell phone.

Rafael was typing away furiously at the computer. "Sir, someone is accessing our systems through a back door that the girl created." he said on the phone. "I'm trying my best to repair it but I need your access codes to override the security protocol in order to reboot and flush the system."

"I'll be there as soon as I can, Rafael." he put down the phone. "I've gotta go, June, will you be alright?"

She nodded and kissed him goodbye then he left. Once he was gone she turned to her son.

"Jack, I need you to do something." he took her hand.

"Sure, mom, anything."

"I need you to go home, on the kitchen table are some broken shards of glass. You need to try to collect them without touching them and take them to Ratchet. Have him analyse them to see if he can find some traces of blood or whatever that blue liquid was that came out of the girl."

"Mom, I…" Jack began, he didn't want to leave his mother in case her attacker came back to finish the job.

"It's the only lead we've got."

"Alright."

Moments later he was on Arcee and heading towards his house. During the ride he filled her in on his mother's condition. Once at home and just as his mother said he found the shards of glass which he carefully put inside a ziploc bag. When they arrived at the base they found they couldn't get in, the whole base was on lock down. He took out his phone and rang agent Fowler.

"Bill, what's going on?"

"Trouble with the security system, we're trying to reboot it as we speak."

"Could you perhaps send a groundbridge?"

"Negative – not right now, Jacey, daddy's on the phone with Jack – not until we get this mess sorted out." In the background he could hear Jacey calling 'Ackie' at least she was safe.

While they were waiting outside he got off of Arcee and she transformed back into her bipedal mode.

"Hey guys, this way." Smokescreen was sticking out of the wall and it took Jack a minute to figure out he was wearing the phase shifter. Arcee took his hand and then held on to Jack. Thanks to the phase shifter they were able to walk through the solid reinforced walls of the base and into the main hub.

"Ackie!" Jacey ran up to him and gave him a hug.

"How did you-" Agent Fowler began but stopped when Smokescreen pointed to his phase shifter. "Oh,"

"Ratchet," said Jack walking over to him with Jacey in his arms. "There's something I need you to analyse when you have time." he handed over the glass shards in the ziploc bag.

"What's this?" the medic inspected the bag.

"My mom said that when she was at home the glass shattered and some of the pieces ended up in the girl's hand. She figured you might be able to find some clues on it."

"I'm a medic, not a crime scene investigator." he huffed. "But I'll give it a shot. First I have to help Rafael with this computer mess." Jack heard him mutter 'primitive technology' under his breath as he walked away.

"Thanks for taking care of Jacey," he said taking a seat next to Miko. "It's no problem. So is your mom okay?"

"Yeah, she'll be fine."

It took Rafael a whole week to fix every bit of damage to the computer mainframe, they still didn't know what the hacker was looking for or what files had been accessed. Luckily their most sensitive information was secured with Cybertronian code but this also meant that Raf and Ratchet were the only ones who could fix the system. Jack arrived at base to find Raf sleeping in the sofa with his head on Miko's lap, he must have hardly slept while he was fixing the computer system. Smokescreen and Knockout were out racing, Bumblebee was in the training room with Bulkhead and Arcee had just entered the main hub.

"Hey there Smooth Operator," she said to Jack. He smiled and felt his heart skip a beat as she came over to him.

"Hey Cee,"

The group sat talking for a while, behind them Ratchet was working on analysing the samples Jack had brought him. They were interrupted by the medic exclaim: "By the AllSpark."

"What's up Ratchet?" Jack asked. Rafael had awoken by the ruckus and came over with Miko.

"I analysed the tissue samples you gave me and I can't quite believe what I'm seeing myself." He bought some images up on the console screen. "This is CNA," he pointed to the image on the right, "and this is human DNA." he pointed to the image on the left. "Now look at this."

In the middle an image appeared which left them all speechless. It appeared to be a fusion of CNA and DNA.

"That's not possible," said Jack looking up at the double helix rotating on the screen. Yet somehow human and Cybertronian DNA had fused together and it seemed to have produced a living being not quite human but not quite Cybertronian either.

"There's something you should know, Arcee," Ratchet said turning to the smaller 'bot. "The CNA within this creature belongs to you."

"What? How is that possible?" she stared at the screen not knowing what else to say. Then it occurred to Jack that this must be the work of Silas. They'd seen what creatures he was capable of making chimeras of humans and decepticons. What if he took it the next step? What if he was able to fuse DNA and CNA at a molecular level? Then he remembered that time him and Arcee had been abducted, it all starting coming back to him and he started to break out in a sweat. Around him he felt the room start to grow darker and his friend's voices seemed fainter.

"Jack," he heard Arcee calling. "Jack, what's wrong? Talk to me, Jack."

He snapped back into the room, breathing heavily and still feeling clammy.

"I think I know who the DNA belongs to and if I'm right, I'm not sure what it means for all of us." all eyes and optics in the room were focused on him.

"Well?" Ratchet said.

"I think it's mine."


	20. Chapter 20

**Hello dear readers, my lessons have finally come to and end and I'll know if I graduate on the 26th of June so wish me luck. Since I'm home all week I finally have time to work on this story.**

 **I think a lot of you have been waiting for this chapter from the start. I hope you enjoy it :3**

 **Huge thanks to all your support!**

* * *

All mouths in the room had fallen open and everyone was speechless.

"What are you talking about, son?" his step-father said.

"I think I know who is behind all of this. It's Silas. If that DNA is mine, then I'm certain it's him."

"Wait, what?"

"Arcee," he turned to his companion, "Do you remember the time we were taken by MECH? They must have taken samples of us then."

She blinked, he could tell her neurocircuits were still processing, she was probably trying to recall that event. "but why?" she finally said.

"This is absurd," said Ratchet. "Why would MECH create such a monstrosity?"

"You saw the chimaeras… What if this is the next step? What if our species aren't that different after all?"

"Pff." Ratchet dismissed his answer.

"No, I'm serious. Did you guys ever wonder why you have ten fingers, and walk upright, and the fact you even have eyebrows?"

"Jack, all of that can be explained by convergent evolution." the medic retorted.

"Alright, then at least test my DNA to see if it matches. I'm pretty sure MECH and Silas are behind all of this."

"Fine," Ratchet said and started accessing Jack's digital medical file. Every person(and bot) who worked at the base had their fingerprints and DNA on file for security reasons. There was an eerie silence in the room, Jack looked nervously at Arcee and she avoided his gaze. Thanks to the power of the high-tech computers they had available to them, the test only took a few minutes.

"I can confirm," said Ratchet slowly. "That Jack is indeed the second donor of genetic material to this lifeform."

"Congratulations, Jack, you are the father." Miko joked but the others didn't find it as funny as she did.

"So MECH is really behind this?" Rafael said.

"But I still can't figure out why?" Jack thought long and hard but his earlier stroke of genius was gone.

"Jack, we were there when Abigail was in the base. She looked like a normal human child. Maybe it's a way of disguise, being able to blend in and strike at the last moment. Nobody would suspect a thing. We certainly didn't." Rafael assured him.

"I dunno either, but I know I need to report this new threat to the president." Agent Fowler straightened his tie. "Jack, I have a phone call to make." and with that he headed to his office.

"Are you okay, Arcee? You haven't really said much." Arcee blinked at turned to Jack.

"That's because I don't know what to say. There's a thing out there that looks like a human child and shares our genetic material. A thing capable of harming those I care about." she clenched her fists. "Something that dangerous shouldn't be allowed to live."

"She's our child, Arcee."

"Jack, it's not anything of ours. It's just a monstrous science experiment that MECH cooked up in their labs," she said coldly. "Who is to say they are making more of them? We need to find that lab and destroy it."

Suddenly the computer system started going crazy. Rafael groaned, he'd just fixed everything and ran over to the nearest access point then began typing away frantically.

"There's a virus in the system. Somehow it must have avoided detection." they saw Cybertronian code appear on the screen and turn bright red then disappear.

"It's deleting all of our files." Ratchet started pressing buttons on his console.

"Looks like someone doesn't want their little secret to come out," Rafael said as he continued to try to contain the computer virus.

"What is going on?" Agent Fowler came bursting through his office door. "I was on the phone with the president when the line went dead."

"There's a virus in the system, sir," Rafael said. "We're working on it."

While the computer mayhem was going on inside the main hub Arcee headed to the training room. She needed a distraction for she was still trying to process the fact that there was an organism on this planet containing her CNA. Cybertronians had always been created by protoforms infused with a spark from the Well of Allsparks, yet somehow this thing had been created by humans. She felt violated that someone had taken her CNA without her consent and used it in such a manner.

When she got to the training room Bumblebee and Bulkhead were sparring.

"Hey, Arcee, come to join us?" Bumblebee asked then noticed her solemn expression. "What's wrong?" he stopped sparring with Bulkhead and went over to her. She explained what Ratchet had discovered and they shared her concerns.

After her talk with her friends she headed into a room adjacent to the training room, it was a large hanger with multiple moving metal targets. She transformed her hands into firearms and started firing at the targets with all the fury in her Cybertronian body.

* * *

"My what a fine bunch of warriors if I may say so myself." Arachnid stood on a platform high above, below her were rows of soldiers all wearing the same black uniform with the MECH logo and their faces covered by three hole balaclavas.

"It's time for their training to begin," Silas said joining her side.

"I doubt they'll need much training, won't you my children?" below her the soldiers answered in unison with a "yes, mother".

Abigail was sitting in her room; its walls were bare except for a tiny ventilation grill. She was sat at a white desk with a few colouring pencils and some sheets of paper. She scribbled furiously on the paper with the colour red then tore it up in frustration. There was a knock at the door and Silas entered the room, he had to crouch to fit inside.

"Abigail, I'd like you to meet your sister, Eve." He gestured to the door and a girl who looked the same age as her entered. "I'll leave you two to get acquainted. Play nice, Eve." and with that he left.

Eve had steel-grey eyes and blond hair which contrasted Abigail's black hair and blue eyes. She looked at Abigail curiously and circled around her.

"Hello," said Abigail shyly. "I'm Abigail, I'm your big sister."

Eve didn't say anything instead she crept closer to Abigail until her face was close to her sister's then her face started to transform and suddenly instead of two eyes she had three pairs of purple eyes, her mouth opened to reveal sharp spider-like fangs.

Abigail screamed and transformed into her robotic form, Eve transformed too revealing herself to look like a giant mechanical spider with a human-shaped torso. She was much bigger than Abigail and leered over her, a look of malice in her eyes then she just laughed a wicked laugh.

"Nice to meet you too," she hissed.

* * *

Jack went to look for Arcee he still couldn't get his head around the fact that somewhere out there was a child made from their combined genetic material. He wondered what she looked like and who she took after. More than anything he wanted to find her and take her home, she didn't belong in the clutches of an evil organisation like MECH even if they did create her.

Bulkhead and Bumblebee were just coming out of the training room so he asked them if they'd seen Arcee. They told him where she was and he went over to her. He could tell she was angry buy how many scorch marks were on the metal targets.

"Arcee," he said softly. She spun around with her weapons pointed at him then she lowered them when she realised it was him.

"Don't sneak up on me like that, Jack." Her weapons transformed back into her hands.

"Wanna go for a ride first?" He suggested as he hoped it might get her in a better mood. She reluctantly agreed and soon they were speeding down the highway. Arcee weaved in and out of cars, she took her corners sharper than usual and Jack leant hard into her seat so he wouldn't fall off. Soon it started to rain and they took cover under a bridge. Arcee transformed and sat with her back against one of the bridge's piers, Jack sat down next to her and rested against her thigh.

"A penny for your thoughts?" he asked looking up at her.

She sighed. "I dunno what to make of all this, Jack."

Next to her she felt him shiver and realised that his clothes were wet so she placed her hand around him. Jack felt her cool metallic skin against his body and cuddled into her hand.

"At least you're not alone," he said. Arcee looked down at him and smiled, she noticed his cheeks started to get a pink tinge to them. She felt his hand reach for hers and begin stroking the back of it. Then she moved her hand to his shoulder and tenderly rubbed the hollow of his neck. Jack stood up and stretched his hand towards Arcee's cheek in response she leant forwards just enough for his hand to gently cup the side of her face. It felt warm against her cheek and caused her spark to pulsate faster. Now his face was moving towards hers, she could feel his breath on her lips. Should she pull back or should she let this happen?

The choice was taken out of her hands when she felt Jack's warm wet lips on hers, his other hand came up and cupped her face. The kiss didn't last very long and his lips still lingered near hers almost as if they were wanting more. She was still analysing what had just happened and all the new sensations she was feeling when panic set in. What had she done? This was her partner and her best friend's son.

"Jack," she said and he opened his eyes. "We can't do this."

"Cee?"

"After this mission is over you know I have to go back to Cybertron.

"Stay with me." He whispered inching closer to her lips and caressing her cheek. They kissed again this time more passionately. When they broke apart she looked into his eyes.

"I can't." She got up, transformed and disappeared into the rain without even looking at Jack.

"Arcee!" Jack called out after her but it was too late. There was no way he could catch up to her. He tried to call her on his cell phone and hoped she would pick up which she didn't. Next he tried calling Ratchet and got a groundbridge back to base.

"Ratchet, can you get a fix on Arcee's position?" he asked.

Ratchet pressed a few buttons then shook his head. "Negative. What's wrong? Did someone take her?"

"No, she … ran off."

"Hmm… then she must have masked her signal and doesn't want to be found. Always was rather temperamental."

"What do I do now? She's not answering my ca-"

"Yip-yip-yip." he interrupted Jack. "She'll talk when she wants to talk."

Ratchet was right so he got him to open up a groundbridge home. It was time he told his mother who the child was that had almost tried to kill her.

* * *

Arcee was speeding down the motorway. So many confusing thoughts in her head and feelings she didn't know her kind was capable of feeling. It didn't matter how she felt for Jack, he was human and she wasn't, it would never work.

In the meantime, Jack had sat his mother down at the kitchen table. Luckily Jacey was asleep.

"Mom," there's something you should know.

"What's wrong honey?" she placed her hand reassuringly on his.

"Do you remember the little girl you found?"

"Abigail? What about her?"

"We found out what she is. She's – how to do I say this when I can't even understand it myself." he felt his mother squeeze his hand. "She's somehow my daughter."

"What? I… I don't understand. You've never had a girlfriend. Besides, she wasn't a normal child she could transform…" his mother went silent. He could tell she was trying to figure it out.

"She's mine and Arcee's." he said.

"But how? There's no way you and Arcee could… you know… or is there?"

"Oh, God, no mom, it's not like that!" Jack's eyes widened and his heart beat faster with panic. "She was created by MECH. Do you remember the time when we were both abducted?"

His mother nodded.

"We think they took DNA and CNA samples from us then somehow created her."

"Why would they do something like that?"

"I don't know, all I know is that Silas is sick and twisted. Perhaps she's a weapon."

"Jack, she really didn't want to hurt me. All I saw was a scared and confused little girl."

"That may be so but she's dangerous. If she comes back, you need to alert Bill or me. I'm worried that Silas wants to hurt my family." he got up and hugged his mother. While he hugged her he suddenly saw her stomach jiggle a little.

"Someone is lively today." she commented rubbing her stomach. "Don't worry, Jack, if anything is wrong you and Bill will be the first ones to know. I promise."

* * *

It was nightfall when Arcee arrived at Jack's house, all the lights were out so that meant everybody was asleep. She opened up the garage door and crept inside. While driving she'd thought a lot about everything about the way she felt towards Jack. In her spark she knew she loved him yet she feared that every time she loved someone she'd lose them. For years she had suffered the loss of Tailgate and Cliffjumper, if something happened to Jack she knew her spark wouldn't be able to handle it. Her circuits told her to get out, leave while she could and save herself from the pain of loss but her spark told her to stay and embrace this feeling.

Suddenly the light to the garage clicked on.

"June?" Arcee could see her standing by the doorway in her dressing gown.

"I heard the garage door." she smiled.

"Sorry if I woke you."

"It's okay, I couldn't sleep anyway." June closed the door behind her and came over to Arcee. "I need to talk to you about something."

"Okay," Arcee transformed into her bipedal form and crouched in the garage. "What's up?"

"Jack told me about Abigail."

"He did?"

"Yeah, and I wanted to know how you felt about all of this."

Arcee shifted position so she was sitting comfortably on the floor. "Confused more than anything. I don't know how to deal with it. I didn't ask for this abomination to be created and I'm scared it will come back and try to hurt you or Jack."

"I see." she paused for a moment. "That reminds me. Is there something going on between you two?"

"Why do you ask?" she was taken aback by the sudden question.

"Arcee, I'm not blind. I can tell when my son is in love."

The titan turned her gaze away from her best friend. "I'm sorry, she whispered. "I didn't mean for it to happen."

"Arcee, why be sorry? Jack's never been happier. You know when you left for Cybertron he was really depressed for months. He's been in love with you for a long time."

"I know and I tried staying away. I tried to ignore these feelings."

"Why?" she came over and rested her hand on Arcee's knee.

"June, I'm thousands of years old. Humans can barely make it to a century old. What am I to do when Jack dies?"

"When someone dies, they never truly leave you. A part of them lives on in your memories."

Arcee thought about what she said and thought of her former partners. June was right.

"If you love Jack then make the most of his life and make memories that you can hold onto when he's gone."

Arcee nodded and Jack's mother smiled at her.

"I'm heading back to bed, now." June yawned.

"Thanks for the talk, June."

"Goodnight, Arcee."

"Goodnight."

* * *

Jack was awoken early the next morning by the sound of his phone ringing. It was Arcee. He took the phone off of his side table and rolled on his side to answer it.

"Get ready. We're going for an early morning ride." he didn't argue with that and hurried to get his clothes on. The rest of his family wasn't even awake yet so he crept quietly through the house. He found her waiting for him outside and as he approached she turned her motorbike seat towards him in a gesture for him to get on. They drove out into the desert to their usual spot on top of a mesa. The sun had barely risen and the air had a cold chill to it. Jack got off of Arcee and stood on the edge of the rocky outcrop. He heard her whirr and transform then she came over and sat beside him.

"Jack, I'm sorry I ran off like that."

"It's okay. I know it's because I'm human…" he trailed off.

"No, it's not that. Jack," she looked into his blue eyes. "I've always been strong, fearless and yet you make me feel so vulnerable. It's like you've torn down the wall I've put up around my spark. For once I'm scared, scared of losing you."

"Arcee, I…"

"Don't say anything, Jack. You once asked me if Autobots could feel love… Well here's my answer." she pressed her lips gently against his and he kissed back. He could feel the coolness of her lips on his, they were like soft metal and rather dry. His stomach felt like there were a thousand butterflies trying to escape. The kiss lasted longer than before and when they were finished they looked into each other's eyes/optics.

"So where do we go from here?" Asked Jack.

"How about we just sit here and watch the sun come up?" she suggested.

"I'd like that."

Jack sat on Arcee's lap and she placed her arms around him, his head rested on her chest and he could hear the pulsating of her spark. They both smiled enjoying each other's company and watching the sky change colour as the sun rose higher and higher into the sky.

* * *

 **A/N I was listening to Two Steps From Hell and they have an amazing song called Stay (feat. Merethe Soltvedt). It's the perfect theme for Jack and Arcee in this chapter.**


	21. Chapter 21

**Hello dear readers, thank you for all your support. I'm happy to announce that I have graduated and now have a Bachelor of Secondary Education. To celebrate I thought I'd upload another chapter. I've been writing it for the last two weeks.**

 **Enjoy the story~**

* * *

Arcee gently caressed Jack's cheek, his eyes were starting to fall shut.

"Comfortable?" she said.

"Very," he replied sleepily.

She lent forwards and kissed his forehead. They smiled at each other just enjoying the moment but were suddenly interrupted by the sound of Ratchet's voice through Arcee's communicator.

"Arcee, is Jack with you?"

"Yes, why?"

"We need you both here back at base. Chimeras are attacking a US military facility."

"Got it, send a groundbridge and we'll mobilise."

Arcee explained the situation to Jack and they headed through the groundbridge. Miko was already in her armour suit when they arrived and the others were gearing up too.

"Where are we heading?" Jack asked as he put on his armour.

"Sweet home Alabama," Miko replied cheerfully.

"Chimeras are attacking a military training facility there. We don't know why yet." Agent Fowler stood above them on the platform to brief them. "Your job is to protect and provide the remaining military personnel with cover while they evacuate. Take down as many of those things as you can. Good luck out there everyone."

"Yes, sir," they replied and rushed through the groundbridge.

They headed into battle, weapons blazing and took down two Chimeras as soon as they arrived. Arcee jumped between them and kicked one so hard in the face its head flew off. Jack tripped another up and Arcee finished it off by shooting it in the back. They stood back to back and saw they were encircled by enemies. Further over they could hear weapons fire from Knockout and Smokescreen. Bulkhead and Miko were working together to break through the enemy lines like true wreckers. Suddenly Bumblebee drove at the enemies surrounding Jack and Arcee knocking them over like bowling pins. Then there was a huge explosion and three tanks rolled into the scene.

"Come on, let's get the rest of the military personnel to safety," Bumblebee yelled as he transformed and started to take down more Chimeras.

"Base to autobot team. We've just got another report of an attack at a science facility. We need some of you back here."

"We'll go," Arcee said and gestured to Jack. "Send a groundbridge."

They headed back to base then back through the groundbridge to the new coordinates. It was suddenly much colder as they were further north. In the distance, they could see a large plume of smoke.

"Come on," Arcee transformed and Jack got on her. As they drew nearer they could see strange spider like 'bots. Arcee skidded to a halt and narrowed her eyes, she could sense an old enemy nearby.

"Jack, I need you to get off me right now."

"What?"

"Now!" she yelled. Jack jumped off of her and she transformed then fired her weapon just as Arachnid jumped out from her hiding place between the trees. Arachnid crashed right into Arcee and they tumbled into the undergrowth. She heard Jack cry out her name.

"You!" she spat at Arachnid who had pinned her down.

"Miss me?" the spider smiled a wicked smile.

"I'll show you no mercy this time," Arcee shouted then kicked out at Arachnid throwing her several metres away. Jack came running through the undergrowth.

"Arcee, are you alright?"

"Stay out of this, Jack," she blocked his path with the palm of her hand. "this is between me and her."

Jack went to protest but saw the determination on Arcee's face, there was no way she was going to back down from this fight.

"Oh how touching your human pet is concerned about you, but it's not you he should be worrying about." Arachnid had got up and was now advancing on Jack.

"No you don't!" Arcee's fist met with Arachnid's face sending her crashing into the ground. Bits of mud and dust flew up around them. "Get out of here!" she yelled at Jack and watched him scramble out of the undergrowth.

Arachnid was leaking energon from the corner of her mouth as she got up. "You want to play, then let's play." The two metal titans clashed once again.

Jack ran as fast as he could towards the building. As he approached he could see the spiderlike 'bots more clearly. What on Earth were they? He thought as he neared. They were like half human and half spider, the most grotesque looking creatures he'd ever seen. All of them were swarming around the building, he was vastly outnumbered and without backup, yet he had to try. Despite looking half human the spider creatures were much larger than Jack even with his armour suit on. He ran past a group of them and headed inside the building. Whatever they were up to in there, they had to be stopped.

Arcee rolled over on the ground avoiding another jab from Arachnid's spear-like legs. She fired a shot up under the arachnicon's torso and hit her directly. A spray of energon shot out from the spider's body.

"That hurt, you don't play nice." she hissed.

"Haven't you heard? I don't play well with others." said Arcee then Arachnid shot webbing at her weapon rendering it unable to fire. Arcee tried to free her arm but it was no use she couldn't even transform that part of her body, the webbing had completely blocked it up. She sprang to her feet and lashed out throwing wild punches, which the spider dodged. Then she was thrown backwards by Arachnid and slammed into some rocks. Her back hurt and she was leaking energon internally but she fought on.

Jack was inside the building. He'd managed to stop two of the creatures on his way and now more were advancing on his position. Inside he could see them pulling cables, trying to disconnect what looked like a giant generator. He noticed MECH soldiers were helping too.

"Ratchet," he said over his commlink. "What's the status of the others? I could really use some backup."

"Negative, Jack, they're trying the best they can but they're still engaged."

There was a loud thud and Jack was jolted forwards. A spider creature had a hold of him and now more were creeping up. He fought back the best he could but there were too many of them and within seconds they had overpowered him and pinned him to the floor. Their spinnerets doused him with silk so leaving him completely immobilised.

Arcee and Arachnid continued to battle, both of them were growing fatigued. With the weapons on her arms disabled Arcee fought using punches and kicks. Then Arachnid shot line of silk at Arcee's legs tripping her up. Now she was on the ground the spider spun copious amounts of silk at her until she was unable to move.

"I'm sorry," Arachnid hissed. "but playtime is over." Arcee was about to receive the killing blow when suddenly she heard someone shout at Arachnid.

"Enough! We've got what we wanted, let's go." it was Silas in the body of Breakdown. Behind him were some of the spider creatures they were carrying something which they threw down next to Arcee.

"Jack!" Arcee cried out and tried to wriggle free.

"Ah, Jack. I see you have met my children." Arachnid went over to the human whose hands were tied behind his back.

"Don't you mean your abominations!" Jack yelled as the spider stood on top of him.

"My, my, my what a hard carapace you are wearing." then she slammed her foot into Jack's back. Even with the armour suit on he could still feel the shock of the hit against his back and cried out.

"Jack!" screamed Arcee.

"Come, children." Arachnid called her minions and they gathered around their mother. Their fangs clicking together with anticipation. Arachnid transformed into her helicopter form and some of her minions climbed inside, the rest followed Silas and Jack and Arcee were left behind on the ground.

"Scrap!" they both said.

Once the other team was finished they headed through a groundbridge and met up with Jack and Arcee.

"Ladies first." Knockout said as he came over to Arcee and transformed his arm into a circular saw. Slowly he cut through her bindings. Jack watched as he helped her get loose and noticed the way he was looking at her. He watched as Knockout placed his hand close to her behind and it lingered there a bit longer than it should have in Jack's opinion.

"There you go, ma chérie," he said helping her up.

"Knock it off," Arcee retorted then went over to Jack and helped untie him.

"Thanks, Cee," he said as she helped him to his feet. Jack held her hand in his and smiled at her. Knockout noticed this and glared at Jack. He had no idea what Arcee saw in a small weak fleshy human. The groundbridge opened up and the team headed back to base.

"I'm going to go get cleaned up I still have some silk residue on me," Arcee said to Jack once he was out of his armour suit. Ratchet had scanned her too and concluded that her internal systems were quite damaged but that she would be okay provided she took it easy the next couple of days.

"Want some help?" he asked cockily.

"What did you have in mind?" she replied somewhat flirtatiously.

"Perhaps I could help you with some of the harder to reach places,"

"Mmm… sounds good," she gestured for him to follow.

"Yuch," Knockout commented.

Jack and Arcee ignored his snide remarks and headed into the corridor.

"What's his problem?" Jack asked once the doors to the hub had shut behind them.

"He's just jealous." she shrugged.

They entered a large empty room with a tiled floor. In the corner stood a pressure washer connected to a tap, and some supplies to wash a car.

Arcee went over and knelt near the pressure washer. She took a hold of the hose and turned it on then started to wash her face and her front. Mud and grime dripped off of her and onto the floor then down the drain hole. Jack came over and she handed him the hose and rolled onto her stomach so he could wash her back. She closed her eyes as the jet of water massaged her back.

"That feels nice," she gave a contented sigh.

"Do you mind if I climb up onto your back to reach you better?"

"Of course not,"

She helped him up onto her back then folded her arms under her chin and closed her eyes again. The jet of water sprayed across the back of her neck then down the centre of her back causing her to shiver. When he was done, she handed him a sponge and a bottle of car soap.

Jack put the soap on the sponge feeling a little nervous now, he hoped he was doing this right as this was his first time washing Arcee. He started to rub her neck and work his way down her back in circular motions then Arcee rolled on her side and Jack made sure to follow her movements so he didn't slip off. She stretched out her arm so he could wash it too then she preceded to roll onto her back. Jack hesitated for a moment.

"What's wrong?" Arcee asked noticing Jack's cheeks turn pink. She took Jack's hand and placed it on her chest plate. "It's okay to touch me here," she said assuredly.

Jack continued to lather the soap on Arcee until she was completely covered from head to toe in bubbles then she handed him the hose again and he rinsed her off. During the rinsing, his own clothes had become saturated with water. Next, he dried her carefully with a towel and finally it was time to polish her. Arcee was completely relaxed as he buffed her and nice circular motions, her engine gave a little purr while he worked and it caused him to blush harder than ever. After half an hour of working on her, Jack was finally done. She got up and stretched, her chassis had never looked so shiny, she looked more beautiful than Jack had ever seen her.

"You're beautiful," he smiled admiring her body and Arcee gave a smile too. If she were human she'd be blushing.

"Your clothes are wet," She remarked.

"Yeah, no kidding," Jack said looking at his t-shirt.

"How about I help you dry off?" she winked and grabbed a dry towel. Jack suddenly felt really self-conscious as he slowly took off his wet t-shirt.

Arcee noticed his body had become a lot more muscular since the last time she'd seen his torso naked, she quite liked what she was seeing as she oogled him for a moment. Then she noticed the bruise on his back from fighting.

"Are you okay?".

"I'll be fine; the suit took most of the shock."

Arcee put the towel around him and gently rubbed him dry. He relaxed somewhat as she massaged his back with the tips of her fingers then kissed the back of his neck. Jack spun round and his lips met hers, his kissed her deeply. They hadn't realised a tall red 'bot at the door.

"If you two are done canoodling, I need to wash too." Knockout said dryly.

"Come on, Jack," Arcee lead Jack past Knockout. "All yours," she said to the ex-decepticon as they left.

Jack got a spare pair of clothes out of his locker and they headed to the hub for the mission debriefing. The team discussed the new threat of the hybrids, assumed to be between Arachnid and a human. Which human they couldn't tell and Jack was praying it wasn't him. That's all he needed was to be the father to a whole army of spider hybrids. His thoughts wandered during the briefing. Why wasn't Abigail there? Last time Silas had used her to infiltrate the base but why hadn't he used her during this attack? So many questions arose in his mind.

* * *

Silas and Arachnid arrived back at their base with the fusion generator. It was what they needed to start work on their own groundbridge based on the specs they had stolen from hacking into the autobot base mainframe.

"Do our children please you?" Arachnid turned to Silas.

"Indeed they do, dear Arachnid. I was wise to entrust you for this alliance. Your genetic material has proven much more valuable than the autobot Arcee."

"Good," Arachnid hissed. "Perhaps now would be a good time to get rid of your failed little experiment."

"Indeed. But there's one more thing." Silas readied his weapon and aimed it at Arachnid. "It seems now that your purpose has been fulfilled I no longer have need of our mutual alliance."

"What?" Arachnid's eyes widened. She went to command her children to attack but it was too late. Silas fired and shot her right in her spark chamber, she fell to the ground dead with her legs all sprawled out at different angles. Now that he had taken care of his pest problem it was time to take care of Abigail. He had an army of spiderlings and thus had no need for his first attempt at hybridisation. He entered Abigail's room and found Eve toying with her. Abigail was tied up in silk from the ceiling and hanging upside down.

"Father, have you come to help me?" Abigail pleaded but he remained silent then looked at Eve.

"Stop toying with your sister and untie her then leave the room," he commanded.

Eve did as she was told and waited outside. Inside the room Silas had once again readied his weapon and aimed it at Abigail.

"Father, what are you doing?" fear overcame the child and she backed up against the wall.

"You're weak and I no longer have any use for you," Silas' weapon began to charge. Even though she was but a child Abigail knew what he was going to do next. She didn't want to die, she pleaded for her life but it was no use. Abigail panicked and fear overcame her, she wanted to live. Suddenly she transformed and her weapons powered themselves up and fired directly at Silas. It wasn't enough to kill him, though it was enough to knock him back. Next Abigail shot at the wall and it shattered leaving a large hole. Eve heard the commotion and came charging in.

"Sister, where are you going?" she demanded.

"Leave me alone!" she fired at Eve and hit her on the shoulder. "You're not a nice sister. A nice sister wouldn't do the things you do. I hate you! And I hate father! I'm leaving!"

Eve tried to stop Abigail but she ran through the hole in the wall and charged through the base. Alarms were blaring as the girl tried to make her escape. Behind her she could hear the clicking of fangs, more spiderlings. With all her might Abigail managed to smash through the ventilation shaft above then she transformed into her child form and entered it. She clambered through the ventilation shaft as quietly as she could, following its twisting and turning bends.

There was a breeze coming through and Abigail continued to follow it as it got stronger and stronger. Soon she could see light. She was nearly out when there was the sound of crashing metal and a spear like leg smashed through the ventilation shaft. She screamed and crawled even faster. They'd found her even though she was almost at the exit. Just a little further. On the outside of the shaft a spiderling was attacking the pipe and ripping it apart. Abigail watched as the whole side of the ventilation shaft was ripped off. She could see a giant fan ahead of her and past that a grate and after that was a clear blue sky.

Almost there. Abigail kept telling herself. She transformed her hands and blasted the fan out of the way then punched the grate out. Behind her the spiderling had entered the shaft. Abigail hurried to climb out of the shaft. Once she was out she blasted at the metal tube shaft causing part of it to collapse. She hoped it would slow the spiderlings down enough as she leapt down and landed on a dusty patch of grass. With no idea what to do next or where to go Abigail ran.

All she knew is that she was never going back and the only person in the whole world she had ever trusted was the nice lady: June.


	22. Chapter 22

**A/N Hello dear readers, another chapter is here. I hope you enjoy this one as much as I enjoyed writing it. I can't believe how popular this fic is getting. Huge thanks to all my followers and those that left reviews. They really keep me motivated.**

 **P.S. this is the longest chapter so far.**

 **P.P.S. I have no clue about transformer anatomy so I kind of made it up on the go. Forgive me if there are any anatomical mistakes.**

 **Enjoy~**

* * *

Abigail ran and ran. She had no idea where she was going. Scared and confused she ran towards the cover of a forest and just kept running. By nightfall she felt exhausted and rested by a stream. She crouched on all fours and drank from the stream by cupping the water in her hands. From behind her came a ferocious growl, she spun round and came face to face with a grizzly bear. It roared and stood up on its hind legs. Abigail transformed and aimed her weapons at the creature.

"Go away, I don't want to hurt you." she cried and closed her eyes. The bear, of course, couldn't understand her and Abigail fired at it. She heard the bear cry out in pain then it backed down. When she opened her eyes she could see she'd only caught its ear which was half missing and bleeding profusely.

"Go away!" she yelled taking a step forwards, the bear whimpered and ran back into the forest where it came from.

Abigail transformed back and felt even weaker than before. She walked aimlessly around the forest trying to find her way in the dark and putting as much distance as she could between herself and the facility she'd escaped from. A tree branch caused her to trip and fall, she continued to roll down a hill and finally came to a halt near the base of a large tree. It was so dark she could barely see, her vision in the dark was only slightly better than that of a normal human. She felt around the tree and noticed it had a hole in the trunk large enough for her to fit inside so she climbed in. It didn't take long before she fell asleep from exhaustion.

* * *

Arcee revved her engine and pulled up her front wheel. Jack gripped on tightly, she did a wheelie as they came up the road towards home. Using the remote control Jack opened the garage and Arcee skidded to a halt inside. The door closed behind them and Jack got off her and removed his helmet as she transformed behind him.

"That was an awesome ride," Jack smiled. He put his arms around Arcee's neck and nuzzled her cheek then made his way to her lips and started to kiss her passionately. He felt her arm come around and pull him closer to her. Jack heard the sound of someone clearing their throat and spun around.

"Mom!" he turned a deep shade of pink.

"Jack," his mother folded her arms across her chest.

"It's not what it looks like," he said stepping back from Arcee.

"I know," she said. "and it's about time too."

"You what?" Jack was confused.

"I've known for ages how you feel about Arcee," then she looked at Arcee. "and how she feels about you."

"So you're okay with this?" he asked rather taken aback by her calmness.

"Jack, I'm your mother and all I want is for you to be happy. If this is what you both want, then who am I to stop you?" He couldn't believe what he was hearing, he hadn't expected his mother to be so accepting of their rather unconventional relationship. He went over to her and hugged her.

"It means a lot to me, mom,"

June looked over Jack's shoulder and smiled at Arcee who returned the smile. She left Jack and Arcee to it in the garage and headed to the living room where her husband was watching a baseball game. She sat down next to him and he put her arm around her.

"So, are they an item now or what?" Bill asked her.

"I guess so," she sighed with relief. "You have no idea what it's like to watch two people who are clearly in love be so oblivious to each other's feelings. It's a nightmare."

"And the fact she's a 'bot doesn't bother you?"

"Bill, Jack's happy. Arcee's happy. Let them be happy and we'll deal with the rest later."

"Whatever you say, Sugar." he leant over and kissed his wife then placed a hand on her stomach to feel the baby. She placed her hand on top of his and together they felt the new life inside her give a little kick.

* * *

"Sir, we have a lock on her position. Do you want us to go and retrieve her?"

"Negative," said Silas. "We'll see where she leads us. Continue tracking her."

"Yes, Sir."

* * *

Abigail awoke the next morning. She felt cold, tired and hungry from spending the night in the forest. She set out early still not knowing where she was really headed but for now she decided to head towards the mountains.

By late afternoon she reached the foot of the mountain-range. It was starting to rain so she searched around for a place to take shelter and found a cave. Once she was inside she lay down to rest. Abigail drifted into an uneasy sleep, she kept dreaming that Silas and Eve were chasing her. She woke up sweating and breathing heavily. The cave was dark except for a strange blue glow coming from inside. She got up and decided to take a look as she neared the blue glow got brighter suddenly the cave floor gave way and she fell down into the hole that had just opened up. She cried out with pain as she felt her ankle twist and she fell to her knees. When she looked at her ankle she could see it wasn't normal looking, it was at a strange angle. Normally her body would heal itself rapidly yet it wasn't happening. Her leg was starting to throb now and really hurt, she couldn't help by start to cry.

Once Abigail had stopped crying and allowed her eyes to get used to the darkness around her she noticed the faint blue glow again although it seemed brighter than before she fell down. Since she couldn't walk she decided to drag herself towards the light and as she got closer she could make out azure coloured crystals. She reached out her hand and touched a crystal then cracked of a piece and placed it in her mouth. It was hard and her teeth couldn't even make a dent in it yet she was so hungry and her body was screaming at her to try to eat the crystals. She spat it out and curled up in a ball. Perhaps she was better off back with the man she had called 'father' since now she was stuck deep inside a cave with no hope of anyone finding her.

* * *

Arcee was in the armoury at the base going through the weapons and trying to figure out which one she would take on her next mission when she heard the door open behind her.

"Jack?" she said turning round.

"Guess again," it was Knockout.

"What do you want?"

"You," he smiled a crooked smile and took a step forwards.

"Touch me and you're dead," Arcee threatened raising the blaster gun in her hand. "Not very smart walking in on a girl with an armoury full of weapons."

"Tsk tsk, I know your spark belongs to another but there's something I have to know: why such a weak meat-bag like him?"

"For one thing he's not at all like you," Arcee said standing down. "He may be soft on the outside but Jack has proven he has the heart of a warrior; he's loyal, compassionate and brave."

"Humph," Knockout crossed his arms across he chest and leant against the wall. "it's just disgusting," he muttered under his breath, "the thought of a human interfacing with one of our kind. How does that even work?"

"Our interfacing is none of your business," she snarled at him. "Now if you excuse me I have a mission to go on."

"Catty today, aren't we?" he said as she brushed past him and left the room.

* * *

The green glow of a groundbridge faded away and Jack, Arcee and Smokescreen were standing near the foot of a mountain. Arcee held a scanner up and moved it around until it bleeped then she held it still.

"Over there," she pointed and her companions followed.

"I can't believe we're getting fresh energon." Smokescreen said excitedly. "None of that Synthenergon with its bland taste but real delicious energon."

Jack was sure if he was human Smokescreen would be drooling.

"I'm just surprised that after all this time some just showed up on the map." Jack was rather cautious as it wasn't the first time they had walked into a trap.

"It's fine, Jack, we're just conducting reconnaissance. Any sign of trouble and we'll call for back up." Arcee assured placing a hand on his shoulder. Maybe she was right, Jack thought, she'd been right in the past.

They approached a cave and the scanner in Arcee's hand was beeping like crazy. It must have been the place so she put the device away and gestured for them to follow her inside. Jack turned on the lights surrounding the helmet of his amour suit.

"Watch yourselves," Arcee said gesturing to a hole in the floor. Jack and Smokescreen walked carefully around and they could now see the glowing blue light of energon crystals.

"Is that all?" Smokescreen looked disappointed at the few shards sticking out of the rock.

"I could have sworn it was more, there's no way Ratchet's equipment would be able to detect such a small amount." Arcee got out her scanner again and it started bleeping. While Arcee and Smokescreen were trying to figure out how Ratchet was able to pick up on such a trace of energon Jack neared the hole they'd gone past and saw a faint glow. He could see the cave floor so he jumped down and landed with a loud clang. In front of him, he saw vast amounts of energon crystals. Arcee and Smokescreen had heard him land and had come over to the hole to investigate.

"Jack, are you alright?" Arcee asked.

"Cee, you're not going to believe what I've found."

Jack stepped forwards in awe and looked around. Behind him, he heard a shuffle and quickly spun around with his fists ready to attack. He could see someone or something behind a wide crystal shard.

"Who's there? Are you Decepticon?" he called out. Then from behind a rock, a little girl limped forwards. She looked scruffy as anything, her hair was matted and full of leaves, and her white dress was torn and covered in mud. He also noticed she wasn't wearing any shoes and her lips were dry. Jack lifted the visor on his helmet to reveal his face.

"It's okay, I'm human too." he said kneeling down towards her and holding out his hand. The girl came over to him and the first thing he noticed was her electric blue eyes, almost the same colour as the energon crystals. Carefully she limped over to him, Jack felt there was something familiar about her.

"Jack! Look out." Smokescreen and Arcee had jumped down and Smokescreen was coming towards him with his weapon ready to fire. The girl saw the weapon and hid behind Jack.

"Smokescreen, it's okay. She's just a kid. I think she's lost."

"No, Jack, that's what she wants you to think and this time that trick isn't going to work." Smokescreen neared and Arcee followed with her weapon drawn. "That's Abigail. I was there when she tried to attack your mom." he said.

Jack spun around and could quite believe it. She looked like a normal child, besides looking a bit grubby.

"Out of the way, Jack. It has to die." Arcee aimed her weapon.

"What Arcee, are you crazy?" he exclaimed. "You can't shoot a child."

"She's not a normal child. You know that as well as I do. Stand aside."

"No," he stood protectively in front of Abigail.

"Jack, don't make me have to give you an order. I still outrank you remember."

"Arcee, stop for a second. Don't you think if she wanted to kill us she would have already? Besides she's hurt. She needs medical attention. We should try to help her." he pleaded and watched as Arcee thought for a moment.

"Fine," she reluctantly agreed. "But if she tries anything I won't hesitate to shoot."

Behind Jack he heard Abigail fall to the ground. She'd fainted from exhaustion. "We better let the others know and send Bumblebee and Knockout to come collect as much of the energon crystals as possible," Arcee said walking over to Jack. Gently she scooped up the child in the palm of her hand and headed outside the cave to wait for the groundbridge.

* * *

"Sir, her signal suddenly jumped from one location to the other."

"Excellent. It seems they've managed to find her. Continue to monitor the situation." Silas smiled, his plan was in motion.

* * *

When they arrived back Ratchet had prepared sickbay and they placed Abigail's limp body on the medical berth. I was far too big for such a small child but it's all they had. The medic set to work scanning her and an image formed on the screen behind him. When he was done he turned around and looked at the scanned image of Abigail.

"Amazing," he exclaimed. "I've never seen anything like this."

"What is it?" Jack asked removing his armour and coming over.

"The way her body is constructed is a perfect fusion of human and Cybertronian biology. Look at this," he zoomed in her torso area. "She has two circulatory systems. This is a human heart and this is an energon converter." He pointed at the screen.

Abigail started to stir on the table.

"We better tie her down just in case," Ratchet suggested. "Especially after our last encounter with her."

Arcee came over and helped Ratchet tie her down with thick metal cables.

"Now what?" Jack asked.

"Her vital signs are low. If we don't get her stabilised, then we may end up losing her."

"What about my mom? Could she perhaps help?" Jack suggested.

"No Jack, no after what happened last time," Arcee said.

"Cee, if we don't do something then she could die. Besides you've tied her down and she's not fully conscious."

Arcee thought for a moment. She really didn't want to put June in danger nor did she want to let the girl succumb to whatever it was that was afflicting her. Jack looked up at Arcee pleading her with his eyes.

"Alright..." She reluctantly said.

June arrived at the base with her medical supplies. Together with Ratchet she marvelled at the human Cybertronian hybrid. Then she set to work trying to figure out what was wrong. She noticed the dryness of Abigail's lips and pressed gently on her skin. It felt just like real human skin and turned white. When she let go it very slowly turned back to its normal skin colour. She concluded that she was dehydrated. Then she looked at Abigail's leg. Strange, she thought, last time when she had glass in her hand she'd healed instantly. June felt Abigail's ankle and concluded it was broken.

"Well?" Jack asked.

"I don't know what's wrong with her," June replied sadly. Both medics were at a loss how were they to treat the hybrid.

June sat down besides Abigail. So this was her granddaughter? She brushed Abigail's matted hair out if her face and could see that she had very much the same complexion as Jack; fair skin and dark hair. Her face was somewhat like Jack's except it was much sharper and thinner. She wondered if she got those features from Arcee. Then she noticed some blue dust at the edges of Abigail's mouth. She asked Ratchet to pass her a cotton swab and wiped away the dust.

"What do you make of this?" She said handing it to him and he put it under the microscope.

"Looks like dust from the energon crystals," He said once the analysis was done.

"Why would it be around her mouth?" June said taking a torch then gently opening Abigail's mouth and shining it inside. "Looks like it's on her teeth too."

"What do you think she tried to eat energon crystals?" Ratchet said dryly.

"Actually… I think I have an idea. What if she can consume energon?"

"Well she does have an energon converter. Since she's unconscious I could try administering it directly. Help me hook up an IV."

Together they managed to attach the IV through Abigail's navel directly into her energon converter. Soon she started to come round.

Abigail opened her eyes and tried to move but found herself immobilised. She looked up and saw the cement ceiling and started to panic, had Silas got her? Was she back at the facility? She started to thrash around until she felt a hand placed on her chest.

"Shhh… it's okay," she looked up and saw June. She felt her stroke her forehead. "We had to tie you up as a precaution."

Abigail nodded.

"Her vital signs are becoming stronger." she looked behind her to see an orange and white medic 'bot. "Looks like the IV worked."

The little girl looked down at her stomach and saw something connected to it. She also noticed that her leg wasn't hurting as much.

"Where am I?" she asked.

"You're safe now," June replied soothingly.

"I'm thirsty," Abigail said and June got her a glass of water and helped her drink from it. Then another man came over to her. He was the man who had found her in the cave.

"Do you remember me?" he said. "I'm Jack."

Abigail nodded. Jack seemed nice and he reminded her of June.

"Abigail, do you know what you are?" June asked her.

"I'm human," she replied. "but then I'm not human. I can do things; things humans can't do." she turned her head away from June. "I'm sorry I hurt you, I didn't mean to."

"It's okay sweetie," the older woman said and stroked Abigail's hair.

"I can't control it. I don't know how." a single tear flowed down her cheek.

"Abigail, I don't know how to tell this but… you're half human and half autobot." Jack said taking a hold of her hand.

"Autobot?" she wondered what that meant. She'd never heard the word before.

"Ratchet, our medic is one. Arcee over there is one too and so is Smokescreen." he pointed and she looked over to them.

"They look like father. Does that mean he's an autobot too?"

"No, sweetie," June said. "Your 'father' only looked like one on the outside."

"Abigail," she looked and Jack who looked right into her cobalt blue eyes. "he wasn't your real father."

"I know…" she said sadly.

"You do?"

"Father's don't hurt their daughters," Abigail turned her head away as she thought back to Silas standing over her and watching as scientists were prodding and poking at her, then her memories flashed to the moments before she escaped and how he was standing over her about to kill her.

"Abigail," she felt Jack place his hand under her chin and gently turn her head towards him and looked into her eyes. "I am your real father,"

At first Abigail found it hard to believe, but then she looked at Jack then to June and realised that for the first time in a long time she felt safe. From the moment she had emerged from her growth tank all she had known was Silas yet she'd never felt truly safe around him. Here in front of him now where two people who she barely knew yet she could feel some kind of connection. She tried to reach out to Jack but her hands were tied.

"Ratchet, do you think we could loosen one of the ties?" Jack asked. The medic looked at him questioningly. "I don't think she's going to hurt us." He added.

Slowly Ratchet undid one of her bindings and Abigail reached out towards Jack. Arcee aimed her weapon just in case. Then Abigail pulled Jack into a hug and began crying into his shoulder.

"It's okay," Jack said rubbing her back.

"Poor thing, she must have been through quite a lot," said June.

Once Abigail calmed down they explained to her that June was her grandmother and about the Autobots. Abigail told them how she'd managed to escape Silas' facility and how she came to be in the cave when they found her.

"Arcee, come on over. There's someone who would like to meet you." Jack gestured for the 'bot to come on over. She walked over stiffly.

"Arcee, is your mother." June explained to Abigail as Arcee came over. "It's from her that you gained your transforming abilities and other features."

"Show her," Jack said to Arcee and Abigail watched in awe as the metal women in front of her turned into a motorcycle and turned back. "You see, you're special," Jack explained. "You're the first half human and half autobot."

Abigail wanted to reach out to Arcee but the 'bot ignored her and went and leant up against the wall with her arms folded across her chest then let out a sigh.

"I can't stand this, I'm going outside," she said and left. Abigail watched as Jack left to follow Arcee but not before assuring her that he'd be back.

"What's wrong?" Jack said once they were outside.

"That thing. I … I didn't ask for it to be created."

"Nor did I but she's here now and she needs us. Who knows what Silas did to her or made her do."

"I can't do it, Jack. I'm not mother material. On Cybertron we aren't born, we are made and infused with a spark."

"Cee, if you can't be her mother then will you consider being her friend? She needs someone to guide her when transforming."

"What about Bumblebee, Smokescreen or even Bulkhead? Primus knows Bulkhead's better with kids than I am. He has a lot more patience than I do especially since he's Miko's partner."

Jack sighed. "Alright," he said and they headed back into the hub. When they got there they walked into the middle of an argument between his step-father and mother. He'd obviously just arrived at the base and they were standing outside his office door.

"What in Lincoln's beard is she doing here anyway? And after last time I don't want you anywhere near her." Bill Fowler shouted.

"Bill, she needs our help." June crossed her arms over her chest. Jack went over to them and said that perhaps they should go in Fowler's office rather than standing there arguing so they headed inside. Ratchet shook his head disapprovingly and went back to his analysis.

Arcee could hear their muffled shouting and she looked at Abigail. She noticed that she looked scared so she went over to her.

"Don't worry," she said to the child. "Jack's not going to let anything happen to you."

Then she knelt down beside Abigail and looked into her eyes. They were almost the same hue as her own optics. Arcee gave her a reassuring smile and Abigail smiled back then reached out her hand. The metal titan wasn't sure what to do at first, she felt nervous around Abigail. To her the whole concept that this was her child felt strange. Then she tentatively reached out her hand and took Abigail's hand in her own. She looked down and Abigail's hand in hers, it was so small compared to Jack's hand.

"I won't let anything happen to you either," she said assured. Abigail lent forwards and hugged Arcee's hand, at last Abigail felt she was somewhere safe.

The argument in agent Fowler's office had died down and the three of them emerged slowly. Jack was pleased to see Arcee interacting with Abigail. He went over to the pair and explained that Abigail would be allowed to stay at the base and that Jack and Arcee, if she wanted to, would be staying to watch over her.

From the other side of the room June and Bill watched the three of them. Arcee helped untie Abigail and the girl sat up and held on to Jack.

"I can't believe I'm a grandmother already," June said.

"Do you think grandpa or pops sounds better?" Bill joked and put his arm around his wife.

"Oh you," she turned and kissed him.

* * *

 **A/N2 I** **f you hadn't guessed it already my second favourite Arcee pairing is Arcee and Knockout. Knockout is one of my favourite characters and he's fun to write. He's a bit butthurt at being rejected.**


	23. Chapter 23

**Hello dear readers, thanks for bearing with me. I finished this chapter a while ago but hadn't gotten around to uploading it until ~**

 **Enjoy~**

* * *

Jack's mother went over to him. "Right, you're coming with me." She said.

"What for he asked?"

"My granddaughter needs some clean clothes so let's go shopping," she winked.

"In the meantime, I'll wait for the others to return so I can fill them in on the current situation," agent Fowler said and headed into his office.

Arcee watched Jack and June leave then turned to Abigail.

"So... eh... you wanna watch cartoons?" She asked nervously for she had no idea what to do with the child.

When Jack had returned from shopping with his mother he found Arcee watching cartoons with Abigail on a tablet. He smiled when he saw them since Arcee usually didn't bother with cartoons. June checked Abigail's ankle and saw that it had healed on its own so together with Ratchet they took out the energon IV. Then Jack and June took Abigail to the showers to get her cleaned up.

At first, Abigail was nervous, not quite sure what to do but once the warm water touched her skin she started to relax. The water washed the muck and grime away and June helped wash and comb Abigail's hair. Jack helped her get dressed and June did Abigail's hair. When they were done they lead Abigail to a mirror. For a moment she didn't recognise herself; she wore a pretty denim dress, a pink ribbon in her hair, and a pair of light brown ankle boots.

"You look pretty," Jack said as Abigail admired herself.

"Pretty?" she asked.

"Yeah, pretty."

"Pretty." She repeated.

Jack then received a text from agent Fowler to say the others were back at base and that it was time to inform them of the situation with Abigail.

All of the 'bots and human companions were gathered in the hub and when Abigail walked in she looked around bewildered. Agent Fowler explained the situation though not all of the 'bots, and Rafael and Miko, trusted Abigail. Jack and Arcee promised they would watch over her.

Later that evening they prepared an empty supply room and turned it into a makeshift quarter for Jack, Arcee and Abigail. It was on such short notice that the only bed they had for Abigail was a hospital bed. Jack and Arcee would have to sleep on the floor although they didn't mind. June returned to the base with a sleeping mat and sleeping bag for Jack and a set of clean blankets for on Abigail's bed. She also bought a few toys for Abigail to play with.

They had supper at the base that evening which Jack had brought in from the mess hall thinking it best for now that Abigail should stay away from the other military personnel. Jack was surprised at how much Abigail ate then she asked for some of the energon Arcee was drinking and gulped down at least a litre of the stuff. When they were done eating Abigail let out an audible yawn so Jack took her to get her teeth brushed and ready for bed. Another first for Abigail and he had to explain why and how to get ready for bed. Together with Arcee he tucked Abigail in and read her a story before bed, which she actually seemed to enjoy, then kissed her goodnight on the forehead.

In the hallway on the way back to the hub Arcee asked Jack: "How do you do it?"

"What do you mean?"

"Abigail… I don't see how you can just bond with her like that. It still feels strange to me that we suddenly have a daughter. I daughter I never asked for..."

"I didn't ask for her either," he replied. "But she's here now. We can't just pretend she doesn't exist."

Arcee sighed and stopped walking. "Jack, I don't think I can do this."

"You don't have to do it alone," he said placing a hand on her shin and she bent down and embraced him. Jack wrapped his arms around her neck and kissed her softly. Arcee returned the kiss with just as much passion.

"I'm really starting to understand why you humans enjoy this," she said once they broke apart. Her lips still tingled from the kiss, the sensors on her lips felt like they had been overloaded with stimuli and inside she felt a kind of warmth wash over her.

"There are some other things humans enjoy that I might be able to show you too," Jack said teasingly.

"Really?" she said leaning in to kiss him again.

"Yeah," their lips connected and Jack felt his desire for Arcee grow and he ran his fingers along the back of her neck. Suddenly the heard the click of a camera.

"Gotcha," when they looked they saw Miko standing behind them. "I knew it, I knew it!" she smiled holding up her cell phone.

"Miko!" Jack shouted at her rather annoyed.

"Aww come on, you guys it's about time. Besides now I have proof Raf owes me five bucks." she made a victory fist.

"Wait, you bet on us?" Arcee said surprised.

"Well duuh, we bet how long it would take for you two love birds to admit you liked each other once Arcee got back."

"Miko!" they both scolded then followed her back into the hub. Of course the teen couldn't keep her mouth shut and blurted out that Arcee and Jack were a couple. They were met by mixed reactions. Bumblebee and Bulkhead seemed to approve, citing that if Optimus had once trusted him with the Key to Vector Sigma then he could be trusted with Arcee's spark. Smokescreen didn't say much but Knockout expressed much disapproval even though he had known of their relationship before Miko. Ratchet wasn't too pleased either and thought it best not to say anything. Rafael and Miko were happy for both of them and even asked if perhaps they wanted to go on a double date one day.

For now, they watched a film until it was midnight then headed off to bed. Arcee lay down on the floor and Jack got into his sleeping bag. He reached out his hand until it found hers.

"Night, Cee,"

"Goodnight, Jack," she leant over and kissed him goodnight before powering down.

* * *

The next morning Jack found he couldn't move. Arcee had rolled over and pulled him into a hug during the night so now he was pinned down under the weight of her arm.

"Arcee," he called out but she didn't stir. He called her name again and this time a bit louder. Then he tried pushing against her arm to try to wriggle free.

"Jack?" She said as she powered up.

"Would you mind moving your arm?"

"Sorry," she lifted her arm off him.

"What time is it?" He said standing up.

"9:25."

"Where's Abigail?" Jack looked around her bed was empty.

"Morning you two," June said at the door. "Sleep well I take it?"

"Very," Jack smiled at Arcee. From behind June Abigail appeared.

"Good morning," she smiled and Jack saw she was already dressed.

"I came and checked on you two earlier and saw Abigail was awake so I got her breakfast and left you sleeping. You looked so comfortable I didn't want to wake you."

Jack felt a little embarrassed since he and Arcee where the ones supposed to be looking out for Abigail.

"Grandma June brought me pancakes for breakfast," Abigail said. "I've never had pancakes before."

"Grandma?" Jack crossed his arms and gave his mother a look as if to say 'seriously'.

Arcee got up behind Jack and stretched her servos which made a loud popping sound.

"Ahh... I needed that." She said with a contented sigh.

"Well I'm going to go shower then get some breakfast," Jack announced.

"Some advice from one parent to another," his mother said. "You might want to set an alarm. I've got the early shift tomorrow so I won't be here and you don't want Abigail wondering around on her own."

"Noted," he replied still feeling a bit sheepish.

"I better go now. I need to drop your sister off at day-care, Bill is watching her at the moment. Bye, hun." She said to Jack and left.

"Right shower," Jack hurried on off leaving Arcee alone with Abigail.

Arcee felt kind of annoyed she was left looking after Abigail, kind of like when she was first assigned to be Jack's charge. At least she and Jack had turned into something positive over the years. She looked down at Abigail.

"So er... what do you want to do?" She asked.

"Could you teach me how to change?" Abigail said shyly.

"Change?"

"Like you do, mommy,"

"First of all it's not mommy, it's Arcee." The autobot said firmly. She may have been her daughter genetically but it didn't give her the right to go calling her that. "Second, I thought you could already transform?"

"Not when I want to. It only happens when I'm scared. I was hoping you could teach me." Abigail replied somewhat disappointed.

"I see, then how about we go to the training room?"

Abigail nodded and followed Arcee down the corridor.

When Jack returned he couldn't find Arcee and Abigail in their quarters, nor could he find them in the hub. In a panic, he used his phone to call Arcee and she told him where to find them. He arrived in the training room just as Arcee transformed into her motorcycle form much to Abigail's amazement.

"You just need to relax and concentrate on what you want to transform into," she instructed then changed back. "How about we start with something simple?" She held out her arm and transformed it into her weapon and back. "Now you try,"

After about an hour of trying Abigail hadn't made any progress, Arcee was starting to loose her patience too so Jack suggested they take a break.

"I just don't understand, protoforms are able to transform from the moment they receive their spark," Arcee said.

"Maybe because she's half human." Jack placed his hand on Arcee.

"Perhaps,"

* * *

It had been a week since Abigail had arrived at the base and she had managed to adjust quite well given that for most of her short life she'd been raised by a psychotic villain. She'd provided the team with intel on the location of where she had escaped from but when they got there they found the facility had been raised to the ground. No doubt it was an attempt of Silas to hide his tracks.

Rafael was sitting opposite Abigail and moved a black rook two spaces forwards on the chessboard between them. Abigail paused then moved her queen three spaces left.

"Checkmate," she said and Rafael looked at her flabbergasted.

"That's the third time today," he said.

Miko laughed next to him. "Ha, she beat you again,"

"But I only taught her how to play a few days ago. How did she get so good so fast?"

"I know she didn't get it from me," Jack was lounging casually on the sofa and looked up at Arcee.

"Hey, I'm not all brawn," she smirked and knocked against her cranial chamber playfully. The others laughed and Abigail joined in.

Jack thought back to the past three weeks; he'd suddenly gained a girlfriend and a daughter. It had been a lot to take in but now he was feeling quite proud of himself for he'd taken to fatherhood like a duck to water. Though Arcee still was finding it difficult to form a bond with their daughter.

"Come 'ere," he said grabbing Abigail and tickling her playfully. She burst out into a fit of giggles.

"Daddy," she laughed. He stopped and she put her arms around him.

"Cee, how about we ask Bill if we can take Abigail outside? We've all been cooped up inside the last few days and the only outside she's seen is the courtyard."

"Where would we go?"

"How about a picnic in the park?" he suggested.

"And what exactly am I supposed to do? I can't transform and I can't eat food."

"You could watch I guess?"

Arcee thought for a moment then said: "You know I am aching for a ride. Let's go."

Jack smiled at her and went to ask his stepfather if he could leave the base for a few hours with Abigail. He wasn't too sure but Jack managed to convince him that it would be okay since Arcee would be with them too. He made a picnic basket of food in the base's kitchen and then searched for a spare helmet for Abigail. Once they were all set Arcee transformed and Jack and Abigail mounted her.

"Hold on," Jack said placing Abigail's arms around his waist.

"How about you drive today, Smooth Operator?" Arcee suddenly said catching Jack off guard. This was a first, normally she always drove and he simply held on.

"Are you sure, Cee?"

"I trust you," she revved her engine causing it to purr beneath him. With that Ratchet opened up a groundbridge and Jack steered Arcee through it.

They materialised just outside of Jasper and Jack drove them towards the Lincoln memorial park. Abigail looked around in awe at the sights. She'd only ever seen such things in books she'd read when she was still with Silas. The colours of all the flowers amazed her and when Arcee stopped she couldn't wait to get off and roll around in the grass.

"You might want to take your helmet off," Jack said as she lay in the grass looking up at the beautiful blue sky. They set up the picnic blanket in front of Arcee so that while they were eating they could lean against her. Then Jack took Abigail over to the playground and instead of starting with the play equipment for younger children she went straight over to the monkey bars and swung across them with ease. Next she tried the slide, then the climbing dome and after Jack explained how a swing worked she happily swayed to and fro. The stamina and determination Abigail was showing was something Jack was sure she'd inherited from Arcee. From across the playground Arcee gave a little smile inside as she watched them.

Jack bought Abigail and ice-cream from a nearby vendor and then they went back over to Arcee. Abigail wolfed down her ice-cream and suddenly clutched her head.

"Ow," she said lending forwards.

"Are you okay?" Arcee said most concerned.

"It's okay, it's just brain freeze," Jack reassured them both. "That's what happens when you eat something cold too fast. It'll pass."

Jack finished his ice-cream then went over and hugged Arcee even though she was in vehicle mode.

"Well, well, look who we have here," Jack stood up and spun round to see Vince his old school bully. Next to him was a small boy of about three years old. If Jack remembered correctly he'd heard rumours that during senior prom Sierra had gotten knocked up by Vince and the boy was most likely their son.

"Long time no see, Vince,"

"Couldn't find a girl your own age, ey Darby," he said staring at Abigail.

"She's my daughter," he said proudly.

"Yeah right, Darby. She can't be your daughter she looks six. You're full of nonsense."

"She's just tall for her age,"

"You're still a loser and you always will be." he sneered. "I see you upgraded your motorbike. It would be a shame if something happened to it."

He picked up a rock next to him which was the size of a golf ball and hurled it at Arcee. The rock didn't impact instead Abigail had darted forwards and was now standing in front of Arcee with the rock firmly in her hand. It all happened so fast that Vince stood there open-mouthed not quite believing what he'd seen.

"Don't hurt Arcee," Abigail said crushing the rock in her hand as if she was crumbling a biscuit. The small fragments fell to the floor.

"What the heck?" Vince exclaimed. "Bunch of freaks. Come on, Tyler," he said angrily dragging his son away.

"Thanks," Arcee said most impressed. "That would have left a dent."

Suddenly Abigail's legs started to give way and Jack managed to catch her before she fell to the floor.

"Abigail! Are you alright?" he said trying to rouse her.

"Energon…" she said faintly.

"Come on, we need to get her back to base," Arcee said. Jack quickly packed up their things then let Arcee drive them outside of town before they requested a groundbridge.

Back at the base, they laid Abigail down on the sickbay table and Ratchet began to scan her.

"Her energon levels are dropping. What happened?" Jack explained what had transpired and Arcee rushed to go and get some energon. As soon as she drank it Abigail started to perk up.

"Hmmm…" Ratchet said analysing the readings form his biometric scanner. "It seems that each time Abigail exerts some form of Cybertronian ability it drains her energon levels. I can only assume that playing chess and running around at the playground has been draining her energon all day. Crushing the rock must have been enough to cause her levels to drop below critical."

Abigail sat upright and cuddled into Jack. "Feeling better?" he asked and she nodded.

"I owe you, kid," Arcee said gently petting Abigail's head. Abigail reached out and took her hand and hugged it. Jack smiled warmly, this was his own little family and no one was going to come between them now.


	24. Chapter 24

**Hello dear readers, it's been a while. I have a lot going on in my life at the moment so it's pretty hectic. I hope you enjoy this chapter. It's been a year since the first chapter was uploaded and what a journey it has been. Thanks for your continued support.**

 **Enjoy~**

* * *

"What's the status of construction of the groundbridge?" Silas stood observing the men working on constructing a metal ring, there were sounds of sawing, drilling banging and sparks flew from a metal grinder. Next to Silas a scientist approached.

"I'd say give or take another week and we can start our first field test," he said nervously holding a clipboard.

"Good, keep on schedule. I want no delays."

* * *

"Morning, Smooth Operator." Jack woke up when Arcee ran her fingers through his hair. Her blue optics glowed in the dark and he smiled at her. He was laying on his stomach on top of her chest, his sleeping bag was open and draped across them both.

"Morning," he yawned sleepily. "Is Abigail awake?"

"Not yet," Arcee smiled and ran the tips of her fingers down his spine causing him to shiver.

"Mmm..." Jack moaned contentedly then leaned forwards and kissed her. His arms caressed her sides and then moved towards her breastplate. Arcee moved her hands under the blanket and playfully tugged at his pyjama t-shirt. Then her fingers lifted it up enough so she could slip her fingers underneath. He felt her caress his stomach and drew her finger across the faint outline of his abs. Jack shivered, her fingers were cold. She moved her hands up and gently pulled his t-shirt off over his head exposing him to the cool air. Jack sat up and felt Arcee trace her fingers down his spine again.

"Cee..." he moaned feeling his desire for her grow. He kissed and this time he used his tongue to slowly ease into her mouth. She let out a little moan too.

"Cee?" He said after they broke apart.

"Shhh...," she placed a finger on his lips. "I've been researching human mating rituals. I want you, Jack."

She pulled him against her and stroked his sides then moved her fingers towards the elastic of his pyjama trousers and gently began to slide them down.

"Cee, what are you doing?"

"I thought this is what human males wanted?" She teased playfully and reached her hand towards his waist-

"Jack, wake up!"

Jack blinked and for a moment was confused. He looked around and found himself on top of Arcee.

"Wha... wha's going on?" His head was feeling foggy and he rubbed his eyes.

"You were making noises in your sleep." Arcee said, he could make out the faint glow of her eyes in the dark. Jack turned a deep shade of pink he felt incredibly aroused this morning and quickly got off Arcee.

"Jack, something wrong?" She placed her hand on his back. He couldn't exactly tell her that he'd just been having erotic dreams about her, it would probably freak her out.

"Just a dream," he said without going into any details.

"Must have been some dream for you to want me that badly," she said rolling over onto all fours and crawling over to him like a cat stalking its prey, her optics fixed on his waist.

"Arcee…?"

Suddenly Jack sat bolt uptight breathing heavily. He looked around in a panic. Arcee was still asleep next to him and he looked at the time on his cell phone. Another five minutes and his alarm would go off. He pinched himself just to make sure he wasn't still dreaming.

"Ow," he said. "Yep not dreaming" and gave a sigh of relief. He rolled onto his back and stared at the ceiling wondering why the scrap his brain had come up with such a dream. It's not that he didn't want Arcee, he'd just never considered the possibility of a sexual relationship with her. They were after all two different species and he knew that Autobots didn't reproduce the same way as humans. He didn't think they even had reproductive organs. Jack decided he needed a shower, preferably a cold one, to clear his thoughts.

Arcee awoke and found Jack was no longer next to her. She felt his sleeping bag, it was still a little warm which meant he couldn't have gone far. Abigail was still sleeping so she went over to her and gently woke her up.

"Morning,"

The girl blinked and yawned then got out of bed. "Morning, Arcee," she said.

Normally Jack was the one to help Abigail get ready in the morning but since he wasn't around Arcee decided to try. She helped Abigail pick out a lovely black and white striped dress although Arcee struggled to do the zip up at the back. Then she tried to brush Abigail's hair but ended up tugging too much making the girl yelp each time she pulled when the comb snagged on a knot. Finally, she helped Abigail get her shoes on although she didn't notice they were on the wrong feet. She wondered why humans even bothered with clothes since they were such a hassle.

They headed to the mess hall where Abigail chose pancakes for breakfast which she ate as quickly as she could. After breakfast, they headed into the hub. Raf was working at his laptop with Miko leaning against him, Ratchet was occupied too trying to repair the phase shifter which Smokescreen had damaged in the last mission. The others weren't around though Arcee assumed that they were in the training room.

Abigail went over to the television and put on cartoons. Suddenly she froze and her expression went blank.

"Abigail?" Arcee said rushing over to her. "What's wrong?" she gently shook the girl but she didn't respond. Ratchet put down his tools and started coming over when Abigail cried out and grabbed the back of her neck like something was hurting her there.

"I'm sorry," she said to Arcee before transforming and aiming her weapon at Arcee.

"Abigail!" Arcee yelled at her and drew her own weapon. "Don't make me shoot you." It was the last thing she wanted to do since Jack would never forgive her but right now Abigail was armed and dangerous.

Abigail fired her weapon, the blast was enough to knock Arcee back. Rafael and Miko hid under the metal table Rafael was working at. Arcee fired her weapon and caught Abigail in the leg but it didn't stop her. Ratchet hit the alarm and the base started to go into lockdown. Abigail fired again at Arcee hitting her in the shoulder then ran past her and slipped under the blast doors just as they were coming down.

Jack had just finished getting dressed when he heard the alarm sound and rushed towards the hub. He had to make sure Arcee and Abigail were safe.

"Ratchet," Rafael said from behind his computer. "I'm detecting a groundbridge inside the base."

"Impossible, our groundbridge isn't active." he rushed to the nearest console to confirm what Rafael had said. "By the Allspark!"

Bulkhead, Bumblebee, Knockout and Smokescreen had heard the alarm and were rushing towards the hub when all of a sudden a groundbridge materialised in front of them.

"What the?" Bulkhead said. From out of the groundbridge a group of spiderlings started to appear. They fired at them with all their might.

Arcee got up, the servos in her arm felt sore and stiff.

"Are you alright?" Ratchet asked as she came over clutching her shoulder. He immediately got out a scanner and began to check her over. From behind them they suddenly heard Miko.

"Guys, you might want to see this." she said turning up the TV volume.

"Citizens of the United States, I am Silas." Ratchet and Arcee turned to look at the screen. They could see the metallic face of Breakdown.

"It's on every channel," Miko said hammering the buttons on the remote.

"For the last five years, there have been aliens among us. Your government has been lying to you." Some footage of the Autobots flashed across the screen. "These creatures are robotic lifeforms from the planet Cybertron and are a threat to humankind. The only way we can protect ourselves is by harnessing their technology and using it against them. I am a product of this. As you can see my body is far superior to that of any human or Cybertronian. I wish to install a better and new world order, one in which we are able to protect ourselves from the threat of invasion by creatures beyond our solar system."

Suddenly the president, who was being held hostage by some of Silas' spiderlings, came into view. "I have a message for the Autobots on Earth. You have 24 hours to surrender yourselves to me or the president of the US will die. Any attempt by the military to strike against me or any rescue attempt will result in the immediate execution of the president. Silas out."

Jack was almost at the hub when a 'bot ran past him. He didn't recognise her at first but when he did he called out her name.

"Abigail!" she stopped and looked at him. "What's wrong?"

She went to punch him but then her hand stopped.

"Why are you doing this?" He looked into her optics and saw the look of fear on her face. Then she clutched the back of her neck and let out a piercing scream. Jack covered his ears at the sound. Abigail lunged forwards and punched him knocking him against the wall and unconscious.

The spiderlings kept coming and Bulkhead and the others were overwhelmed. They shot their silk at them causing their weapons to block up. "Arcee, Ratchet, we have a problem." he signalled the others in the hub.

"Bulkhead, what's going on?" Arcee answered.

"We've got company. A groundbridge just opened up and a whole bunch of spiderlings just came through."

"The base is on lockdown. Right now we're stuck in the hub. Ratchet and Rafael are trying to open the doors as we speak."

"Roger, Arcee,"

"Bulk, have you seen Jack."

"Negative, Arcee. I thought he'd be with you."

Arcee's spark sank she hoped that nothing bad had happened to him. Next in the hub the commlink of one of the computer consoles sounded and Ratchet answered it.

"What in tarnation is going on there? I was just woken up by a call that there's a madman trying to take over the world and I got an alert on my phone to say that the base is under attack. Today is supposed to be my day off." he yelled angrily.

"Agent Fowler, we are currently under attack by Silas' hybrid army." Ratchet informed him. "The whole base is on lockdown protocol."

"How did they get in?" he demanded.

"Somehow Silas has managed to build his own groundbridge. The only conclusion I can come up with is that when our system was hacked it was him and he stole our plans to the groundbridge."

"Where's Jack? I tried calling him."

"Still unaccounted for." Arcee answered. "and Abigail she… she attacked us."

"What? That's it. I'm coming over, send a groundbridge."

"Negative Agent Fowler," Rafael said typing away on his laptop. "Our groundbridge has somehow been disabled."

"You're telling me I'm going to have to fly from Jasper Nevada to the base? That's going to take me over an hour."

"Until the groundbridge is up and running again, we have no other choice."

"Alright, I'll be there as soon as I can." and with that he ended the call.

"Now what?" Miko said and the others glared at her with annoyance.

* * *

Jack awoke, his head was feeling sore. He looked around and found he was no longer in the base and wondered how long he had been unconscious. His head was pounding.

"Ah, Jack, good to see you are awake," Silas was standing outside of the prison cell Jack was in.

"Silas," Jack growled. "How did I get here? Where's Abigail?"

"She's right here, in fact, she's the one who brought you here." Silas stepped aside to reveal Abigail but Jack saw that she wasn't herself. She wore a blank expression and was still transformed.

"You son of a … What have you done with her?" he yelled through the bars. "Abigail!"

She didn't respond to his calls.

"She can't hear you, Jack, it's useless. Abigail is completely under my control."

"Why?"

"Because this was my plan all along and now that I have you I know the Autobots will do anything I say to get you back."

"They'll never listen to you."

"Don't be so sure, Jack. If they don't hand themselves over within 24 hours, then the president will die and so will you."

"You're a sick twisted evil man."

Silas laughed an evil laugh. "I'm just a man with big plans for this planet."

"Why do you want the Autobots so badly?"

"Hmmm… I suppose I should tell you since in another 20 hours you'll be dead. My plan, Jack, is to be the father of a new species. A species which you are Arcee are the founders of."

"Abigail…" he whispered. "What do Arcee and I have to do with this?"

"I tried for years to make hybrids, all of them failed yet for some reason when I combined your DNA with the autobot Arcee's CNA they didn't reject each other like the other samples I had tried in the past. I repeated the experiment hundreds of times yet the child you see before you was my only success, until I met Arachnid. I tried with her CNA and your DNA hoping it was something to do with your genetic makeup yet it didn't work either. Then one day a sample of Arachnid's CNA was contaminated with my DNA and the rest is history. My hybrids are far superior to Abigail for they have my brute strength and combined with Arachnid's cunning and desire to kill. Their only flaw was that they would only listen to Arachnid although that was quickly resolved when I eliminated her and now they have sworn total obedience to me. Abigail has served her purpose now and soon it will be time for her to be eradicated too for in my new society only the strongest will be permitted to live."

"And what exactly is her purpose?"

"You didn't think you finding her was an accident now, do you? You see I planned for you to find her. First I used her to hack into your systems. It's how I was able to get the plans to build my own groundbridge. Next, I planned for you to find her in the cave when you did. I let her escape and continued to track her. I knew she would head for the cave since she was low on energon, call it instinct. All lifeforms have a basic sense of self-preservation.

Once she was inside I caused an explosion to trap her there and the result would also expose enough energon for your Autobot friends to pick up on your equipment and eventually lead you to her. I needed you to trust her and when she'd finally gained your trust then that would be the time to strike."

When Silas had finished explaining Jack had tears in his eyes. Is that all Abigail had been, a pawn in Silas' sick plan? The past few weeks he'd spent with her he had grown to love her even though he had never expected to have a child. To him she was his daughter and it didn't matter how or why she had been created all he cared about now was to escape and get her away from Silas. Whatever he'd done to her he was sure Ratchet could fix it. His only hope now lay in the Autobot team.


	25. Chapter 25

**A/N**

 **Hello dear readers,**

 **I know you've been looking forward to the next chapter. This chapter took me a little longer to write than expected. Also I'd like to thank you all for your patience and continued support. I'm now at over 100 followers and almost 100 favs which is far more than I could have ever expected when I first started writing this fic.**

 **Enjoy~**

* * *

Arcee and the others had combed the base and found no sign of Jack or Abigail. Their only conclusion was that the attack from the spiderlings had been a diversion. The computer systems had shown the presence of another groundbridge inside the base and Arcee had found Jack's cell phone in a hallway that lead towards the hub. They gathered that Jack had been abducted through the groundbridge to wherever it had lead. The spiderlings that had attacked Bulkhead and the others had quickly retreated through a third groundbridge.

Arcee sat solemnly in the main hub, the shreds of Abigail's dress in one hand and Jack's cell phone in the other. The two people she cared the most about were suddenly gone. Her spark ached like never before, it felt as if it had shattered in two. Knockout came over to her.

"What do you want?" she snapped at him.

"I… I wanted to say that I'm sorry for being such a jerk," he said placing his hand on her shoulder. She looked into his optics confused about what his intentions were. "I am also crazy about you… But that's not the point," he added.

"Knockout what are you getting at?"

"I know how much he means to you and I want to help get him back. I just can't bear to see you like this,"

"So all this time you've been acting like a jerk is because…"

"Yeah," he sighed then paused for a moment. "Well anyway if there's anything I can do. Let me know."

Arcee stood up and hugged him which he hadn't expected. "Thank you," she whispered in his audio sensor.

Agent Fowler arrived at the base that afternoon by helicopter. He informed his wife of the fact her son was missing then set to work coming up with a plan with the Autobots on how to save the president and find Jack. As they were discussing the matters at hand they received an incoming transmission. Silas' face appeared on the giant console screen.

"Tick tock goes the clock. Only 19 hours left. Have you made up your minds yet? Oh and by the way the stakes are even higher now." The camera panned from Silas to Jack who was locked in a cell laying on the floor unconscious.

"Jack," Arcee called out but it was no use. The message was pre-recorded and ended abruptly. It had confirmed their worse fear that Jack had been abducted and taken to Silas.

"Now what are we going to do?" Smokescreen asked. "We can't save them both."

Arcee clenched her jaw in frustration. He was right, they were outnumbered and any attempt to rescue the president or Jack would mean they'd be killed.

"What about asking Ultra Magnus?" Bumblebee suggested.

"I doubt Ultra Magnus would want to get involved with issues on the planet Earth," Arcee said.

"But I know someone who might." Miko suddenly piped up. The room went silent and all eyes and optics were on Miko. "Wheeljack,"

"One problem though… the groundbridge and thus the space bridge is non-operational at the moment." Ratchet pointed out the obvious flaw in her idea.

"It's going to take at least a few more hours until Ratchet and I can get this fixed," Rafael added. "But if we do get it up and running then we could ask Wheeljack for help."

"Hmmm…" said Agent Fowler and looked to Bumblebee. "Silas did say all Autobots on Earth had to surrender. Do you think he knows about them?"

"It's highly classified," replied Bumblebee. The others were lost and had no idea what they were talking about.

"Perhaps now is the time to tell them."

Agent Fowler explained that somewhere off the coast of Maine was a place called Griffin Rock and that there were, in fact, other Autobots on Earth but they had been kept a secret. Only Optimus Prime, Bumblebee and Agent Fowler knew of their location. They explained that the town is a testing ground for new technology and that no doubt they had also witnessed Silas' public threat on TV. It was time to call in a favour. Agent Fowler went to his office to make a very important phone call.

While the others were trying to come up with a plan Arcee went over the Ratchet.

"I need you to do something for me," she said to him.

"What can I help you with Arcee?"

"I don't believe Abigail wanted to hurt me. Right before she attacked she apologised to me then grabbed the back of her neck. I have reason to believe that she is being controlled by Silas. Do you still have her bio-scans?"

"I do,"

"Good, then I want you to find out how he's controlling her and how we can stop him."

The medic nodded. "I'll do my best. Also, how are your servos doing?" he was referring to her shoulder that had been shot by Abigail.

"Still sore,"

"Here," he came over with a Cybertronian hypodermic gun and injected her arm. "That should feel better."

"Thanks, Doc. Dunno what we'd do without you."

Agent Fowler came back from his office. "Good news everybody and everybot: the rescue bots of Griffin Rock have agreed to help us."

"Woohoo," Miko yelled and made a victory fist in the air.

With the groundbridge still down the Rescue Bots had to travel by air and arrived at the base five hours later. In the meantime, Ratchet had discovered that Arcee's theory about Abigail was right. He bought up the bio-scans of her and showed Arcee that in the back of Abigail's neck was a neurotransmitter. He'd managed to determine the frequency at which it operated and was working on a frequency disruptor together with Doc Green, who Agent Fowler had put him in touch with. Doc Green was a brilliant scientist from Griffin Rock whose whacky inventions often ended up causing mayhem on the island.

"Everyone," Agent Fowler addressed the group assembled in the hub. "I would like you meet the Rescue Bots." One by one each both introduced himself along with his human partner. There was Heatwave, a fire-bot, Chase, a police-bot, Blades, a copter-bot, and Boulder the construction-bot. Their partners were Chief Charlie Burns and his children: Kade, Dani and Graham. His youngest child Cody was back at Griffin Rock. Doc Green had also joined them on the mission, mostly to help fix the groundbridge.

"Impressive place you got here," Chief Burns complemented them. "and an impressive team too."

"Thanks," said Agent Fowler.

Blades was already idolising Bumblebee and asking him all kind of questions. Knockout complimented Heatwave on his finish to which he simply grunted a thanks. Smokescreen didn't quite know what to say to Chase since Smokescreen wasn't the best at sticking to traffic laws. Ratchet and Rafael introduced themselves to Doc Green and the three intellectuals immediately set to work on repairing the groundbridge. Bulkhead and Boulder got on well as both were into construction, which kind of made Miko feel a little left out.

"Hey," said Dani coming over to her. "I see you're also one of the few girls on the team." she smiled warmly at Miko. "Us girls have gotta stick together."

Arcee didn't join in the commotion around her, her thoughts were on Jack. With a little under 14 hours left, time was running out.

Once the chatter died down the humans gathered some tables and chairs together and set them in a square shape so that they could come up with a plan. The Autobots stood around them and Fowler began by explaining the current situation.

"So let me get this straight," chief Burns summarised the situation. "Silas has an army of cybertronian human hybrids. He wants all Autobots on earth to hand themselves over or he will kill the president of the US and your college Jack. Any attempt to try to take him out will also cause him to execute the president and Jack."

"Correct," agent Fowler said.

"He also has my daughter," Arcee added. The rescue team looked at her somewhat confused so she quickly explained the situation with Abigail.

"Agent Fowler, is there any chance that Silas knows about us?" Chief Burns asked.

"Negative, you've been kept completely off any records."

"Good, then I think we might have a plan."

The chief explained how one of the humans would sneak inside to start a fire at Washington DC. The rescue team would masquerade as normal emergency vehicles and respond to the 911 call. They would instruct the building to be evacuated and during the evacuation they would smuggle the president out before Silas realised that they were Autobots and not rescue vehicles.

"Sir," Chase interrupted. "Isn't arson against the law?"

"In this case, Chase, we'll be making an exception." Chief Burns replied calmly.

"What about Jack?" Arcee questioned their plan. "If Silas realised what we are trying to do then he could kill Jack."

"That's why we have to time everything just right."

"But we don't even know where Jack is. We can't even detect his locator chip."

"Actually, I think I know a way." Doc Green butted in. "Ratchet how does the groundbridge function?"

"Well, to put it simple it slices through transwarp to create a tunnel between two sets of coordinates." Ratchet explained.

"So it's kind of like a wormhole."

"You could use that analogy if you want but it's far more complicated than that."

"Ratchet, is it possible to detect the source of a groundbridge?""

"I'm afraid can only detect incoming groundbridges."

"Well if a groundbridge cuts through subspace, or transwarp as you call it, then it is likely to leave a trail through time and space. We need to look for the interdimensional distortions, they are like ripples in the fabric of time and space."

"I don't have the technology here to do that…"

"But I do." Doc Green said giving them hope. "Let us get your groundbridge up and running then we can head back to my lab and assemble the equipment we need."

"Okay but once we are able to find Jack how are we going to get him out of there?" Agent Fowler asked.

"If we can disable Silas' control over Abigail then she might be able to help us," Arcee suggested. "Ratchet, if you're going to Doc Green's lab then try to see if you can finish the frequency disruptor too."

"Got it, Arcee."

* * *

There were nine hours left, Silas had reminded them again at the 12-hour mark that time was running out. Ratchet, Doc Green and Rafael had repaired the groundbridge and had built both the frequency disruptor and the transwarp distortion detector. They were standing at the last location of where Jack's cell phone had been found.

"Ready?" Doc Green asked.

"Ready," Rafael and Ratchet answered and activated the distortion detector. It hummed and suddenly Rafael's laptop beeped.

"I've got a location, Arizona, but I'm afraid it's not very precise. The groundbridge opened up 15 hours ago and the signal is very faint." he began typing away on the laptop and thinking aloud. "In order the run their own groundbridge they're going to need a huge source of power if I could find one nearby..."

A few moments later he said: "Palo Verde Nuclear Power Station. It's in Arizona. Silas must have his base nearby."

"Good work, Raf," Doc Green said. They headed back to the hub and were able to use imaging satellites to locate the entrance of a base in the side of a mountain. It was barely visible but infrared satellite scans had revealed that it went very deep underground.

"That's got to be where they are keeping them," Agent Fowler said once Raf and Ratchet had explained their findings to the team.

It was decided that Bulkhead would head to Neo Cybertron to bring back Wheeljack, the Rescue Bots would carry out the plan to save the president and team Prime would save Jack and Abigail.

Smokescreen, Knockout, Bumblebee and Arcee would use the phase shifter to infiltrate Silas' base and use a virus, which Rafael was working on, to take out his security systems. Once the system went down they'd split into two teams; one would locate Jack and Abigail, and the other team would locate Silas and take him out. Bulkhead and Wheeljack would function as a back-up team. It seemed simple enough but they knew it would be far from simple. They also had to coordinate their efforts with the Rescue Bot team because if any of them were detected early then Silas would have both his hostages killed.

"Are you ready?" Agent Fowler said with both teams assembled.

"Ready," they replied.

"Miko, you're up first." Agent Fowler instructed. Miko smooched Rafael goodbye then got into position in front of the groundbridge.

"Wish me luck," she said with a wink and headed through the groundbridge. She found herself in the west wing of the White House where the president was being kept hostage. Luckily there was no one in sight and she quickly set to work starting a fire which tore through the White House. Soon she could hear the sound of sirens in the distance, it meant that the Rescue Bots had successfully groundbridged nearby and were heading towards the White House. She signalled to the base and they opened up a groundbridge so she could return.

"Phase 2," Arcee said. "Let's head on out." The groundbridge materialised again and when Arcee and her team went through they stepped out on the mountainside that contained the base. The four bots held onto the phase shifter and passed through the mountain. Moments later they found themselves inside the base. Just as they re-emerged on the other side of the wall the phase shifter sparked and stopped working.

"Scrap," they said in unison. It obviously wasn't made for use by four Autobots at the same time and its energon powercell had overloaded.

"Come on, we've got to stick to the plan," Arcee told her team. "We need to find a computer access point."

The team crept as quietly through the base as they could, trying their best not to alert Silas of their presence.

"Watch out," Arcee gestured towards a security camera above them and they carefully sidestepped.

"In here," whispered Bumblebee pointing to a small room. They took out the two men inside and Arcee plugged the USB stick Rafael had given her into the computer. The virus immediately started to upload itself. They watched the loading screen as it slowly went up percent by percent until it finally went up to 100%.

"All clear," Arcee signalled Rafael.

"You've got 10 minutes, guys." Rafael broke into the computer system using the virus to open up a backdoor into the system. He immediately hacked the security cameras and started searching for Jack. At the same time the Rescue Bot team had signalled that the White House had been successfully evacuated but there was no sign of the president. The fire had also been put out.

"Guys, I think we have a problem," Rafael said looking at the monitor in front of him. "I've found Jack and the president."

"What?" Agent Fowler said next to him.

"Scrap," said Arcee.

"Seems like his plan was to lure you to his base all along," Rafael said.

"Come on, we've got to get to Jack. Knockout, you're with me. Bumblebee, Smokescreen you find Silas." Arcee commanded her team.

"Got it," Bumblebee and Smokescreen left. Rafael explained the way to the prison cells for Arcee and Knockout the follow. He warned them of spiderlings up ahead and the swiftly took care of them. There was no sign of Silas near the prison cells so they continued, for now, Jack and the president were still safe.

"Almost there Arcee," Rafael said. Suddenly Bumblebee contacted them on the commlink.

"Arcee, get out of there now. It's an ambush!"

"What?" Arcee and Knockout readied their weapons. Back at the base Rafael bought up the image of Bumblebee and Smokescreen, both were pinned down by spiderlings and chimeras. Then the image cut out and he'd been thrown out of the system.

"Rafael? Do you copy?" Arcee tried to contact him. "Scrap," she swore.

"Now what?" Knockout shrugged.

"Now you surrender to me," came a voice from behind them; it was Silas.

"Double scrap," Arcee said as they were quickly surrounded by spiderlings. They fired at as many as they could but were soon overwhelmed as well and immobilised by silk. Knockout and Arcee fell to the floor.

"You walked right into my trap and now thanks to you I now know that there are even more Autobots on Earth than I had previously thought." he gave them an evil grin as he towered above them.

* * *

 **A/N The way the groundbridge works is based on various sources on the Transformers wiki and other sci-fi shows like Stargate.**  
 **Since the Rescue Bots and the Transformers Prime cartoon is set in the same universe I decided to add the Rescue Bots but only gave them a minor role as the main focus is on Team Prime.**


	26. Chapter 26

**Dear Readers,**

 **I'd like to thank you for your patience. I had hoped to upload this chapter much sooner.** Usually **I don't talk about my personal life but I've had a lot going on since Christmas; my brother ended up in the hospital, my long-term relationship broke down and I got a job as a substitute teacher for a few weeks. Now I'm back to studying for my post-graduate in teaching and looking for work again I've finally had time to finish this story. I have loved writing it so much and I'm really sad to see it end. I hope you all enjoyed reading it as much as I enjoyed writing it.**

 **Enjoy~**

* * *

Arcee and Knockout were hauled down a long hallway then taken to another room and thrown on the floor. Arcee looked up and saw the prison cells and…

"Jack!" She called out.

"Arcee," he yelled through the bars. "You came for me."

"I'm never giving up on you," Arcee smiled just happy and relieved to see him.

"Awww how touching," Silas laughed and Bumblebee and Smokescreen were brought and thrown down next to them. "It won't be long now and I'll have four more of your friends joining you very soon."

Scrap, Arcee thought, he'd managed to capture the Rescue Bots too.

"You know," said Silas "You should all be very proud for you are all about the be the founders of a new race, a race of human and Cybertronian hybrids. It's a shame you won't get to witness the birth for as soon as I've extracted your CNA I'll have no further purpose for you."

Men in white lab coats started to surround them wielding large drills. As they inched closer Arcee saw Abigail standing in the corner of the room. She wore the same vacant expression as the last time she saw her.

Suddenly there was the sound of a huge explosion in the distance. Arcee smiled, she recognised that tactic from anywhere: the wreckers had arrived. Her arms were still bound behind her back but she was able to reach around to the device strapped to her wrist. A huge shockwave rippled through the room knocking everyone down. Silas got up and shook his head.

"What have you done?" he clutched his head. "Why aren't they listening to me? Attack them you fools!" he commanded the spiderlings in the room. None of them moved, instead they looked around confused.

"Abigail!" Arcee cried out. The girl's vacant expression was gone, instead she was filled with a look of sheer hatred. She leapt forwards and attacked Silas. Her arms wrapped around his neck and he struggled to shake her off. While he was distracted Knockout transformed his arms into circular saws and cut through his silk bindings. He got up and kicked at the scientists coming towards them sending them flying across the room. Then he went over to Arcee and freed her, together they freed Smokescreen and Bumblebee.

"Stand back, Jack," Arcee aimed her weapon at the door of his cell and blasted away the lock.

"The president," Jack said pointing to the cell a few doors down.

"On it," said Smokescreen as he ripped the front of the door off.

Arcee picked Jack up and they kissed passionately and he placed his hands around her neck.

"How were you able to find me?"

"I'll explain later. Here," she handed him is armour suit and put him down. "Help get the president to safety. We'll take care of Silas."

At that moment Abigail was thrown off of Silas and hit the wall with a loud thump. Her body transformed back into that of a little girl and she slumped lifelessly to the floor.

"Abigail!" Jack cried out.

"Jack, go! Get the president out of here! Smokescreen go with him." she commanded. Bumblebee rushed forwards and fired shots at Silas causing him to stumble. He fired back and hit Bumblebee square in the chest. Bumblebee fell backwards with a metal clang.

"Bumblebee," Arcee yelled and leapt at Silas. She sprang up and kicked him in the face with both her feet then used that momentum to propel herself away from him. She spun in mid-air and landed behind him. Silas turned around, lunged forwards and punched her, knocking her back.

"Hey, didn't your mother teach you not to hit girls!" Knockout punched Silas in the face sending him flying into the wall. Bits of dust and cement flew about. Arcee quickly jumped and landed in front of Abigail to shield her from the debris.

Silas stood up and Bumblebee shot at him.

"Arcee, Bumblebee, keep him distracted. I've got an idea." Knockout called out. Arcee ran towards Silas and fired at his head, he dodged and headed towards Knockout.

"Oh no you don't," Bumblebee ran towards him and tried to hold Silas in place. Knockout transformed one of his hands into a circular saw and slashed at the back of Silas' ankle. He cried out with rage as he could no longer stand on his foot and fell to the ground. Even though he couldn't walk Silas tried to fire at them but it was no use. They were able to outmanoeuvre his shots. Then Arcee watched in horror as Silas turned his guns on Abigail and fired a shot. It was heading right towards her.

"Abigail!" she screamed and ran over to her. At the last second Knockout jumped in front of Abigail and took a hit directly to his spark chamber. Knockout fell to the ground and rolled, stopping just before Abigail.

"Knockout!" Arcee ran over to him. He wasn't moving. She shook him and tried to rouse him but to no avail.

Suddenly there was the sound of another explosion and debris flew about the room. Arcee covered her optics with her arms to shield her from the dust.

"You guys started the party without me," said a familiar voice. It was Wheeljack.

Silas fired at the newly arrived Autobot and Wheeljack dodged then headed towards him. With a swift slash of his twin blades he cut open Silas' spark chamber which housed his human body. He looked upon the face of the human, it was scarred and mangled looking with many wires connected to it.

"Sayonara," said Wheeljack and plunged his blade deep into Silas' chest. When he withdrew the blade Silas let out a horrible gurgling sound as he choked on his own blood for a few seconds then fell to the floor dead.

"Sorry for the late invite," Arcee said as he helped her to her feet. "Is Bulkhead with you?"

"Yeah, he and Miko met up with Jack, Smokescreen and that other guy they had to save. They made it out okay."

"Thank the Allspark," Arcee said with relief. Then she went over to Knockout.

"Ratchet, prepare sickbay. We have casualties."

Abigail was lying on the floor looking rather pale and Arcee stepped over Knockout towards her daughter. She lifted her limp body up like it was a ragdoll and held her close to her spark then kissed her forehead. Wheeljack and Bumblebee helped lift Knockout up and followed Arcee outside. There they met up with Jack and the others.

"Arcee, is she?" Jack went over to her and she knelt down. He took off his armour and checked her pulse but couldn't feel anything. "No…" he whispered placing his arm around Arcee's neck as they both knelt over their daughter. Tears began to run down his face. The rest of the team gathered around and lowered their heads.

The blue-green glow of a groundbridge formed in front of them. Bumblebee, Smokescreen and Knockout headed through first. Then Bulkhead, Wheeljack and Miko, finally Jack and Arcee with Abigail in her arms headed through.

"Jack," his mother ran over to him and hugged him. "I'm so glad you're okay." Then she looked up at Arcee who cradled Abigail in her arms. She bent down to show June her granddaughter.

"We couldn't save her," Arcee spoke with a sadness in her voice. June reached out and felt her granddaughter's pulse. For a moment she didn't feel anything but suddenly and very faintly there was a weak pulse.

"Arcee, get her on the gurney now." she went over to the hospital bed. "Ratchet, I need your help."

Ratchet came over with his scanning equipment. "Her energon is almost depleted. We need to get her some energon right now or she's going to die."

The scanner started to bleep. "What's wrong?" June asked.

"She's going into a state of shock. There isn't enough energon in her body for her energon converter to pump." Ratchet said. "Arcee, go and run to the supply room. We need an energon cube."

"No," she said. "By the time I get there and back it will be too late." Arcee opened up her chest plate to reveal her spark chamber and energon converter. "Use my energon."

"Arcee…"

"It's her only hope."

Ratchet set to work and in less than a minute he managed to connect an IV from Arcee's energon converter to Abigail's. In the meantime, June tried to keep Abigail's heart going by performing CPR on her. Jack could only watch as the two medics tried to save his daughter's life, he felt so useless.

"Ready," Ratchet said and opened up the valve of the IV. Arcee's energon slowly flowed from her chest, down the tube and into Abigail's energon converter. The atmosphere was tense for they had no idea if this would work. Then slowly Abigail's skin started to change colour, it was less pale. June placed her stethoscope to Abigail's chest.

"Her heart rate is returning to normal," she smiled and Jack hugged Arcee.

"Thank the Allspark," Ratchet said and then turned his attention to Knockout. He'd taken, what had looked like, a direct hit to his spark chamber but luckily it had missed by an inch. Knockout had been incredibly lucky.

The groundbridge at the base opened up and the Rescue Bots stepped through much to the surprise of the others.

"I thought Silas had got you guys?" said Bumblebee.

"He did but then suddenly all his men started to act all confused. We used the opportunity to escape." Chief Burns said once he had got out of Chase's driver's seat.

"Didn't think we'd be rescuing ourselves on this mission." Boulder joked and let his human partner get out. The rest of the rescue bots did the same.

"Arcee…," Jack turned to the her. "I lov-"

Before he'd finished the sentence she placed her fingers on his lips. "I know," she smiled then kissed him.

"Yuch," they heard from over the other side of sickbay.

"Nice to see you're awake, Knockout," Arcee smiled at him. Knockout looked down and groaned.

"I don't think I'm going to able to buff that out," he said prodding at the wound on his chest.

"Stop touching it," the grumpy medic scolded him. "It won't heal properly if you keep poking at it."

Abigail's eyes fluttered open. "Daddy," she murmured feebly as Jack lent over and stroked her forehead. "Arcee," she said looking up.

"You can call me mom, if you like." Arcee smiled and tenderly took hold of Abigail's hand. She saw the IV running from her mother's energon converter to her own then her then looked into her mother's optics and smiled back. "Mommy,"

Once Abigail regained her strength Ratchet removed the IV and Arcee went over to Knockout. "Thank you for saving my daughter," she said and hugged him.

"Anything for you, ma chérie," he smiled and she went back over to Jack and her daughter.

* * *

Back at Silas' base Eve was bent over the body of her father. Tears ran down her face.

"Why father? Why did they do this to you?" she stood up and wiped her tears on her arm. "I swear; one day I will have my revenge. I will destroy Abigail and the Autobots if it's the last thing I ever do."

* * *

Once Abigail had gained some strength Ratchet was able to remove the neurotransmitter from the back of her neck. Now nobody could ever control her. Something else happened now that the neurotransmitter had been removed Abigail was finally able to transform at will and proudly stood beside Arcee in her Cybertronian form. She looked very much like her mother except she was silver with pink highlights.

The president of the USA came to the base too and handed each autobot and their human partner a Medal of Honour for protecting the country and saving his life.

"Well that's the first medal I've ever received considering we've repeatedly saved this hunk of rock," Wheeljack said looking at the shiny piece of metal around his neck. Then it was time to say their goodbyes. The Rescue Bots took a groundbridge home but promised they would visit again soon. Ratchet was especially looking forward to seeing Doc Green again.

"Bulkhead, you will come back again, won't you?" Miko sobbed as she hugged him.

"This time, I promise," the titan said gently putting her down and heading through the space bridge home. Miko ran to Rafael and he put her arms around her to comfort her.

"See you around, Bee," Rafael said to Bumblebee.

"Sure thing," he waved and stepped through the portal.

"See you guys," Smokescreen said and stepped through. Wheeljack nodded and left too.

"Jack," Knockout said coming over to the human. "Make sure you treat her right and don't go breaking her spark or I'll have to break your legs." he joked.

"Er… thanks I guess." Jack replied.

"Sure you're not coming?" Knockout asked Arcee.

"No, I'm staying with my family." she said proudly looking at Jack and Abigail.

"Au revoir," and with that he headed through spacebridge home.

"Well," said June once the portal had closed. "If you're staying here how about we sort out getting the three of you a place to live. The base isn't exactly a home."

"I'd like that," Arcee smiled a genuine smile. "...a home."

* * *

 **A/N and there we have it. There is going to be an epilogue to follow but I hopefully won't be leaving as much time between uploads.**


	27. Epilogue

**Hello dear readers,**

 **I wrote two versions of the epilogue because I couldn't figure out which version I like the best. I have a bittersweet ending and a happy ending. Please let me know which ending you liked the most. Thanks to all my readers for your continued feedback. I really appreciate it.**

 **Enjoy~**

* * *

 **Bittersweet**

 _60 years later_...

Jack lay in the hospital bed, tubes and wires connected him a life support machine. He could feel his life draining away. Next to him stood his wife and daughter. At the foot of the bed were his brother and sister, Jacey and Junior, both were grey-haired and old like him. Their grown-up children were there too. Miko stood with her son, Tatsuki.

"Abigial," he reached out to his daughter. "You've made me so very proud. You're the best daughter I could have wished for."

"Daddy, I wish you didn't have to go."

"I'm human, it's our one frailty. Unlike your mother, I can't live forever but at least you won't be alone when I'm gone." she hugged her father and kissed him on the forehead. Even though many years had passed she didn't look a day over twenty. Because of her being half Cybertronian she'd luckily been granted with the gift of longevity.

Junior and Jacey came over to him. "Take care of each other," he said to his siblings. "I'll say hi to mom and dad." Jack said and hugged them. He could feel his strength slipping away now.

"Say hi to Raf for me too," Miko smiled and gave him a hug too.

"Arcee," he said weekly and she came over took his hand. "You're still as beautiful as the day I met you. I love you so much."

"I love you too and I always will," she said and kissed him. Jack closed his eyes and Arcee saw his chest rise and fall for the last time. Then his hand slipped from her grasp but she wasn't sad for she looked at her daughter and smiled for she knew even though he was no longer here his legacy lived on through Abigail and all those who had known him in life. Arcee knew for as long as she lived she would never forget the human who had found his way into her spark.

 **Happy ending**

 _60 years later..._

"Are you ready?" Ratchet said typing away on a glass datapad.

Jack was strapped to a life support machine; his body was starting to give out. He could feel his life draining away. Next to him stood his wife and daughter. At the foot of the bed were his brother and sister, Jacey and Junior, both were grey-haired and old like him. Their grown-up children were there too. Miko stood with her son, Tatsuki.

"I wish Raf could have been here, this was his life's work," Miko said sadly.

"I'm sorry we couldn't finish it sooner, mother." Tatsuki placed his arm around his mother.

"Your father wanted nothing more than to help others. He was so selfless." she turned to Jack. "Promise me you'll make the best of it."

"I promise, Miko." Jack smiled weakly.

Jack looked to his left and saw the protoform that was to be his new body once the transfer was complete.

Jacey and Junior came over and hugged him. "Just in case this doesn't work, bro." Junior said.

"It will," the grumpy medic said.

Arcee came over and kissed Jack on the lips. "I love you," she said.

"See you on the other side," Jack replied as the machine started to power up. There was a blinding flash of light. It felt like his body was being emptied and he suddenly felt weightless. Another flash and it felt like his body had been thrown against a brick wall. He sat up and coughed.

"I can't breathe," he said in a panic. "I can't breathe."

"Jack," Arcee placed her hands on his shoulders. "You don't have lungs, remember."

Jack blinked, his vision was starting to adjust. He looked to the right and could see his body, the heart monitor registered his heart rate as a straight line. Then he looked at his hands, they were made completely of metal.

Ratchet came over with a scanner. "Try moving your arms," he said. "Your gyroscopes are still adjusting. Wait a moment before you walk for your leg servos to come online."

Jack wobbled and got up.

"Amazing," Tatsuki said pushing his glasses up on his nose. Jack was reminded of Rafael and thought of his friend. If it wasn't for him he would never have been given this chance to live life for the second time but as a Cybertronian.

"Easy does it," Arcee said and Abigail came over to help Jack up. She didn't look a day over twenty even though she was over sixty years old. She transformed and helped her mother hold her father until he was able to stand on his own.

"So, Jack, what's the first thing you want to do now you're one of us?" Arcee smiled.

"I think I'd like to start by getting a vehicle mode," he smiled.

 **The End**

* * *

 **A/N Even though it's cliché AF I think Ed Sheeran's Thinking Out Loud is kind of a fitting ending song.**


	28. Sequel teaser

**Update: the sequel is on online titled Being Human. You can find it if you go to my profile page. Enjoy. **

* * *

**A/N I'm back with a sequel since there were a lot of people asking for a one. I didn't intend to write a sequel but instead, I'm opting for a slice of life type of collection of short stories. How does Arcee adjust to being on earth permanently? How does this affect Jack and Arcee's relationship? How does Abigail cope now she is no longer under the tyranny of Silas?**

 **At the moment I'm working fulltime and am focusing on some other projects. I have a few fics from other fandoms (DBZ and Zootopia if anyone is interested) in the works as well as some of my own original stories, which I plan on publishing someday. I can't promise the updates will be regular but for those who want to continue to follow, I will be very grateful.**

 **Here's a little teaser of the first chapter of the sequel. I will be uploading the full chapter as a new separate story so keep an eye out for it when I'm done writing it.**

* * *

"Well, what do you think?" Jack said standing inside the large empty room with his arms outstretched.

"What is this place?" Arcee said looking around her. The room was huge, it's ceiling big enough for her 15foot frame to stand up in. The floor was plain concrete with oil stains and tire tracks. Two car lifts were set into the floor, there was a stack of old tyres in one corner and a row of shelving with various tools hung on the wall. There was also a tyre pump, jumper cables littered around the floor and some empty oil barrels. The windows of the room were large and let in plenty of light, though most of them were broken.

"It used to be a mechanic shop and now it's going to be our home," Jack smiled proudly. "It needs some work to make it liveable for Abigail and I, yet once it's finished it will be perfect. Mom and Bill helped me find it."

Arcee didn't know what to say. She just smiled as he continued to enthuse about where they were going to sleep and where Abigail's room would be, then the kitchen, living room, dining area, and bathroom, which wasn't so important to Arcee. The past few weeks they'd been living with Jack's parents but it was kind of too small for the three of them. Arcee didn't have much space to sleep in the garage, Jack had his own room and Abigail slept with Jack's younger sister Jacey. With Jack's youngest sibling on the way, the house was starting to feel cramped. Jack also felt he needed his own space for his family.

The mechanic shop was a few blocks away from where his mother and step-father lived and near the outskirts of the town of Jasper. The building itself was as tatty as anything and run down, it had been abandoned a few years ago. At the back of the shop was a door that lead to the private living area of the previous owner. When Jack's step-father had suggested it to him he knew it was exactly what his family needed and now that Arcee had seen the place she couldn't agree more. At least she had plenty of room to stretch out and no longer would need to sleep in her vehicular form.

"I guess, it will do." she said to Jack who was waiting for her reply.

"You'll see, Cee, it'll be great," he smiled.

 **...to be continued...**

* * *

 **Update: the sequel is on online titled Being Human. You can find it if you go to my profile page. Enjoy.**


End file.
